Shanahan, Suspensions, and Social Appeal

With the NHL taking the next new step into being a more personable brand, it also seems to shed some light into the latest idea they have in order to explain some of the suspensions they have doled out and why. This, of course, is due to Brendan Shanahan's new gimmick of taking to video in explaining and showing why the suspension of the player is given.

While he seems to take on the role of Jack Tunney in these videos, it's a smart idea for Shanahan and the NHL to do; because I don't know about you, but I hate reading. Plus, with this-- Shanahan can definitely spot out where it went wrong in the explanation and he gets to do the announcement from that fancy set in some secret mountain base the NHL produces stuff in.

It's very unlike any other sport where you can see the hit and have the disciplinarian explain it all-- like so much Clarissa Darling. Sure, you'll have debates on why the same hit carries a different penalty or how one player can get off the hook without penalty when a hit weeks earlier did get penalized-- but at least you won't have the NHL hiding from their reasoning on why someone got the penalty they did.

Even so, this seems to show that the NHL wants to be more relatable to the fans and actually takes them inside the process. This could be a good thing, this could be a bad thing. We already have too many armchair GMs and armchair Commissioners around the social media sites and blogging sites that this just adds another facet to the whole armchair expert ideal. That could make some people even more incorrigible, but it's just something that seems to go with the territory.

However, this whole thing makes me wonder if people will ever get mad at someone like Brendan Shanahan and lash out at him like they do with Gary Bettman or like they did with Colin Campbell?? Shanahan is a likeable guy from his playing days, very well respected for his decisions up to this point-- but will he get more slack cut from him for it?? Everyone is able to hate Bettman and Campbell because they're the figureheads who are supposed to be hated and they take it in stride. Yet, Shanahan could be a guy that will get the benefit of the doubt from fans and commentators because of what he has done, which will definitely take the heat off of Bettman for the decision making or maybe even creating rules to help protect players; which is a smart move to give someone likable the main stage so the heat won't be as bad.

Though, the tide could change with people. Sure, the honeymoon period should be give to Shahanan and with him going out-front with these videos will help his cause. At the same time-- there could be a breaking point for people if while he may be respect, some of his decisions will irk some fanbase, then have a snowball effect from there. It'll be interesting to see if Shanahan will get the same heat as people in his position from the past.

All in all, it's a great step for the NHL to take a different angle in order to reach out to the fans and be a little more insight to the reasons why a player was suspended; rather than typing up a press release and sending that out and thinking it's kosher. Whether it ultimately makes things more understandable for the fans remains to be seen, but at least they can say they tried and failed rather than not trying at all.

Friday Five: Off-ice Thoughts of an On-ice Event

It's been a crazy week and it's now time for a short recap of the odds-and-ends of the week with the Friday Five. Maybe, just maybe-- someone would want to cash in on this fantasticness, because like "Wayne's World"; I do bow down to sponsors.

1. Is Air Canada using this as PR or do they actually think the NHL couldn't get another airline for 11 teams, so they pose a threat??

The Air Canada stunt was ridiculous and was only used to put themselves over. Odd how it "leaked" out and if any other sponsors raised issues-- still hasn't come out yet. While I understand the position of Air Canada and wanting to put the NHL under the gun, but this sponsorship is beneficial to both sides and kind of cutting the nose off to spite the face. Plus, if a sponsor starts to dictate how the game is play, the slippery slope of what could come after it would be monumental. That'd be like a patient telling a dentist how to go about drilling. In the end, I think that while it's a great stunt; Air Canada has a lot more to lose than win in a situation like this, because I'm sure other airlines are out there looking for 11 teams to be under their umbrella and others waiting to be the marquee name on the Toronto Maple Leafs arena. Bad spot that Air Canada put themselves in.

2. When it comes to the headshot issues-- how can the GMs actually change the rules and enforce it better without taking hitting out of the game??

Another fine-line issue, but there has to be something to discourage shots to the head-- whether it's by not playing and losing money or something; but the respect between fellow players just isn't there. I don't believe that any new rules in place will be a landmark change and actually make players not play as cheap as they have been. The league doesn't want to take hitting out if they don't have to, because it is a part of the game that appeals to some sectors of fans and is really what separates this from other games, to the extent of whether it's clean or not. It's more of something that the player's have to talk about themselves and start to respect each other.

3. The NHLPA seems to have hedged their bets when it comes to not directly coming out against one player over another in this event-- smart or silly??

The comment Donald Fehr made in the official statement, saying the injury of Max Pacioretty could have been caused by lack of padding, showed that he may have been led wrong; but at least his first statement saying he wasn't knowledgeable on the hit or dynamics behind it was honest and truthful. This padding thing could be silly, but the fact they haven't gotten to the point that the disrespect between union members is running rampant seems to be like an ostrich with its head in the sand. Granted, Fehr is new-- but at the same time, the people around him should have been seeing this for the longest time and should have brought this up to their members. While the NHLPA is looking out for their player's wallets and all of that, they should get more concern for their player's health and safety-- and maybe the padding is the first step, who knows-- but doesn't seem like it.

4. When it comes to Gary Bettman, he signed a five-year contract extension last fall. Fans hate it, but are they missing the bigger picture??

Of course they're missing the big picture. Bettman is a heel, he knows he's a heel, and he plays it well and almost embraces it. He doesn't kowtow to pressure from outside sources and has made great business for the NHL since he's come into the league-- bigger revenues some good and not so good expansions/relocations, and all around growth of the game. While people may hate him and his Count Count statue/appearance-- he's a great guy to have as the figurehead because he doesn't care what you call him and the Board of Governors have been making money out of his regime. He's good for everyone and should have been retained. (Sure, this all could be because of the fact the CBA is coming up and they want to look strong, but still-- all the things I said hold true.)

5. It seems after Chara-gate, the rest of the on-ice product has been ignored-- sans for hits and what-not.

Considering it's the same week (and same day, I think) that the Bertuzzi-Moore event happened back in 2004, the debates ramped up hardcore and, sure, the games got lost in the mix-- but that's going to happen when something this crazy happens. Sure, we've had some fancy shootout moves from Mike Ribeiro and Martin St. Louis (that caused its own controversy), but nothing too out of the ordinary happened. Maybe it wasn't the best time for teams to go into hibernation with excitement, but that's the way the universe works.

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That's it for the week that was, which seemed very Chara-bomb heavy-- oof. In any case, you have a topic or a question to submit-- Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com is the place to send it and I'll get to it, post-haste.

Long Line Change: Chara and the Coyotes

When it comes to this blog, I usually try to switch it up from the norm and try not do fall into the same discussion everyone else is doing, mostly because every angle has been eaten up. With this new Long Line Change gimmick-- I'll try to find another angle and if not; just another opinion.

Alright-- so the big thing today is Zdeno Chara and what he'll be punished with. As new starts to come out concerning Max Pacioretty's injuries, you can bet that could weigh in on the decision that Mike Murphy will have to make in terms of discipline for Chara. For those who don't know, Pacioretty has fractured vertebrae, which is in layman's terms is a broken neck; not to mention a severe concussion

Of course, the debate amongst fans is whether or not Chara had the intent of doing what he did, which was to ride off Pacioretty enough to put him into the turnbuckle between the benches. You have all the theories of him not knowing where he was on the ice, Chara kinda blaming the victim saying he jumped into the glass area, and whatever. Fact is, you know where that break is at between the benches and you have seen a lot of other times of this happening, but not everyone who gets hit like that gets carried off. Those guys got lucky, because it's a dangerous play to get caught up in and even though there's padding-- it doesn't cushion the impact as many think it would.

In the end, Chara should get at least a couple games, mostly based on the outcome of what happened. There's many times where other, worse hits go unpunished while the victim is out for a prolonged period of time-- so Chara's hit should at least get noticed due to the severity of the outcome. One can't say the 5-10-Game he got was enough, nor can one say that the hit should be over five games because it's a fine-line you have to walk. Happenstance is something that happens through and through in the game of hockey and this is one where it had a devastating outcome, whereas other hits have had guys get up right after it and be fine.

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Moving in a drastically different situation, the Phoenix Coyotes. In a deal that was supposed to be done years ago, in a deal that Bill Daly was saying at the Heritage Classic he was happy was over.....it still goes on. With the City of Glendale threatening to sue the Goldwater Institute for holding up the deal that could happen to sell the team to Matthew Hulsizer to the Goldwater group threatening legal action should the City sell bonds and violate the Arizona constitution.

With Gary Bettman speaking out yesterday in Glendale, you can sense he doesn't want to give up on the area because the onus will be there that even if you build a new arena; it doesn't mean the team will stay (take note Long Island). There doesn't seem to be a different vision for the NHL other than staying in Arizona, NOR SHOULD THERE BE. Let's not kid each other, the moment that the NHL starts to focus on relocation or even give the HINT the Coyotes will move; the team is gone. The only objective should be trying to keep the team in Phoenix and talk up the team and city as much as you can-- not only to convince the people, but convince themselves this is a battle that is for the greater good.

Much to the chagrin of Winnipeg or Quebec City, the odds are the NHL won't be thinking about relocation until they get tired of the Phoenix mess and pulls the team unilaterally. It's not like Bettman wants to have this debacle at the forefront, but at the same time-- he's doing what he can for damage control and try to rally the troops and actually show the level of interest for this team.

This has been a the third year of a five year plan, it seems-- the same story over and over again. The NHL is doing their best to not give up on a city cold-hearted, but also not shutting out the other cities that could be vying for their services and actually acknowledging they're out there without giving too much hope.

With all that's going on and off the ice-- I don't envy Bettman and the NHL brass in these situations.

Friday Five: Injury Bug and Relief

It's the end of another week and time for the F5. First off, thanks to those who enjoyed the story of Matt Mitchell's pads and the goalie himself, as it blew up big time. Sadly, it won't get better than that, I'm afraid-- but hey, I won't stop trying.

1. With Zach Parise and Martin Brodeur hurting, will the bad luck end in Jersey??

At least the Brodeur injury doesn't seem that serious-- though if it is, there's going to be issue, moreso. The Parise injury hurts on the actual team side in terms of scoring, but for the salary-wise, it's quite the relief. Unless there's a drastic change in attitude, I don't know if there's anything that can save this teams right now. It's almost like this is the mulligan year for the Devils after the years of success; which happens every now and again to even the most elite of teams. The ebbs and flows of parity is showing right now.

2. What's Bobby Holik's deal and why does he have such an axe to grind with the Devils??

The thing you have to appreciate is Holik coming out and being the outspoken guy he's become on the NHL Network and beyond. That said, there has to be some kind of underlying issue which makes him more critical of the Devils, a team he has two Cup rings with. Granted, everyone and their mother have been critical of the Devils, but Holik has been beyond that and it's a bit refreshing at one end of it and a bit "enough already" at the other end. We all know the Kovalchuk deal was bad, we're seeing the result on the ice-- but there's a point where it just stops being a topic because it's widely known as a bad move for everyone.

3. Staying in the Tri-State area, are we seeing the true New York Islanders or is it a bump in the road??

This is more than just a bump in the road, but it's not something they can't get out of. The issue I have is that they left Rick DiPietro in for two games in a row after he let up more than four goals. While I know they want to get the most out of his contract and out of his body while he's healthy-- there's a point where you have to switch it up and put Dwayne Roloson in there to help stop the bleeding and give the team a chance to win. The injury issues are a bit much, but at the same time-- guys have to step up and not use it as an excuse. If they don't improve in another month, all is definitely lost.

4. Daniel Briere has been suspended and Joe Thronton has a hearing Friday afternoon-- will this send a message to star players that they aren't infallible??

It's definitely a good message if they actually receive it as something they need to tone down. You look at this week also having fights with Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby, which is the way it should be done if star players feel like throwing their weight around-- drop the gloves and settle it the way you can within the perimeter of the rules. If you're cheapshotting guys when you're an elite player, it's silly when you actually have a rule allowing you to settle stuff without resorting to cheapshots.

5. The SPHL has a rule where their overtime is immediately a 3-on-3 situation. Is this the way to go or is there another way??

You have to give the SPHL props for going to this drastic of a measure, skipping over 4-on-4 altogether. However, I'm with JonnyP and other guys saying they should extend the 4-on-4 to a ten minute segment and seeing how that goes before reducing the players or going right to the shootout. The NHL coming out of the lockout was supposed to be about creating chances and while 3-on-3 does create chances in overtime, the 4-on-4 for a longer period of time would do just the same, but closer to the spirit of the game rather than gimmicks.....though I love me some gimmicks

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Another week in the books, and if you have a topic that you'd want to be tackled, you can get in touch with me via electronic mail. Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com is the place to contact me and you can just get your question answered by me.....isn't that thrilling??

The Lack of Downie Uproar

In the midst of the suspension to Alex Ovechkin, which is something well-deserved because it was a touch from behind, the thing that is going overlooked is something that happened later that day and could have been more serious.

If you haven't seen the "hit" Tampa's Steve Downie put on Sidney Crosby, you can check it out here from this clip. The thing that's with this, there is MUCH more intent to injure a player than Ovechkin's hit was and there was a deliberate targeting of a player while the play was across the ice. As my friend Kim pointed out, if there was ever an example of deliberately attempting to injure a player-- that play was it. Thankfully, Crosby's leg didn't snap like Joe Theismann's but the fact it could have been much worse than it was is the point.

As of right now as I post this, there has been no report about Colin Campbell wanting to meet with Downie to talk with him, no indication that the hit was even something on the NHL's radar; which is should be since it involved their promotional focal point both on and off the ice in Crosby. While only a two minute call was given to Downie, it doesn't mean his penalty after the fact cannot be worse. What's even more interesting is this comes a week after everyone was praising Downie and his play on the ice and how much he's improved. Interesting how things can change in an instant.

The thing is that we've seen this blatant inconsistency from the NHL and even the severity of the injury and the name has nothing to do with it, as we've seen in the past week where Matt Cooke gets nothing for ending Marc Savard's season and thensome and got nothing out of it. Both Cooke and Ovechkin are past offenders, but it seems that it really how Colin Campbell is feeling from hearing to hearing.

Odds are, we won't see anything happen to Downie, especially if nothing has been said now. It's not like Downie has been a multiple offender, but much of his play has been questionable at best. It's stuff like what Downie has been pulling that makes discussion of rule changes happen. It's one thing to go after a head deliberately, you almost have to put the legs into the same boat as well-- especially when it comes to a player who relies on his legs like Crosby for agility and finesse for his game. That's why there's so much uproar on knee-on-knee hits because it's a dangerous play and could do much more damage in the long-run than meets the eye.

Until the NHL gets a little more streamlined about their discipline, everyone has the right to mock their stances from one ruling to another. The Downie incident is much more severe than what Ovechkin did and as of now, he is getting nothing. Ovechkin should have be sat for what he did to Brian Campbell and Steve Downie should sit for what he did to Crosby. If the NHL wants to send a message and curtail anything that happens in the future-- this is the time to do it before it's much too late.

UPDATE: 03.16.10, 11:20 AM-- Steve Downie has been fined $1,000 for the hit. The system works!!!

Ovie is His Own Enemy

Does he want to be the villain?? Is he tired of being the guy people look at as a great ambassador to the game?? Is he trying to push the limits of his superstardom?? Whatever it is, Alex Ovechkin is really doing more worse than good for himself. He's now starting to get hurt from his actions because it is.

If I'm the Caps right now, as much as I like to have his energy, he needs to be told to calm it down a bit. Odds are, he will be suspended for this hit and rightfully so, I may add. However, the knee injury is going to be the task at hand for the Caps. The suspension is almost good for him because it'll give him games to rest up. Plus, it could settle him down when it comes to the reckless abandon he may have going on in his head.

Yet, with all this going on and with Ovie missing the games he has been having, whether it's forced or not-- is there a time where the Caps don't become his team?? I mean, you look at what Nicklas Backstrom has been able to do, it almost seems like he's taking it on as his team; much like Evgeni Malkin did when Sidney Crosby was on the shelf for the Penguins. It's a good mentality for Backstrom to have, especially with what's going on with Ovechkin.

Somehow, the injury for Ovie shouldn't be a surprise, since many people thought that his style of play, as well as karma, would catch up with him. The karma part if obvious with all the misses he's had with the suspensions on questionable hits and such. Yet, his style of play is much like Pavel Bure's, where he's open to injury more often than not. In the same breath, I don't think Bure did it to himself like Ovechkin is doing. Still-- this would probably come later in his career, which is not good for Ovie when he's the reigning MVP and going out like he's untouchable.

Whatever the case for Ovechkin may be, it's going to be something where the Caps may need to talk to him and try to calm him down before he goes a little too crazy and does long-term, irrepairable damage to himself, thus maybe sinking his team, too. Luckily, the Caps have a deep roster and could be able to bounce back sooner than most due to it. If Ovechkin wants to be a leader, he needs to start doing it on the ice by not playing so headstrong and testing the limits of what he can get away with. If he doesn't-- more incidents like this will happen, for sure.

How is Brashear's Hit Different From Stevens'??

Everyone is making an uproar when it comes to the hit that Donald Brashear put on Blair Betts, for which Betts is done for the playoffs with a broken orbital bone and Brashear has been suspended for six games. Now, the fact of the matter is this-- the hit was late, the hit was a blindside, but I don't believe the hit to be dirty.

Here is the hit in questions:



This is what I don't think the hit is dirty-- Scott Stevens' hit on Paul Kariya in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals pretty much was the same thing, minus the roll of the arm up in the air like Brashear did after he hit Betts with his bicep. If you don't remember (and Kariya probably doesn't), here's the hit:



Both of these hits had the elements of each other. First, Kariya and Betts were admiring their pass/dump-in respectively as they glided towards the middle. Stevens and Brashear saw this and saw the opportunity to hit and they did so. Both hits were late, both hits had the blind-side element to it, but only one got suspended.

So, what was it about Brashear's hit that made it that much more brutal and made people get up in arms the way they have?? Was it because of Brashear's thuggish track record?? Well, yes-- that's probably why he got the harsh suspension the way he did. And for that, okay-- I can see that. Was it because Betts' got injured the way he did?? Again, most likely because if Betts didn't get severly injured, the suspension may have been less or non-existent from this. Yet, somehow-- while the hits were somewhat similar, Brashear's hit was apparently much more tumultuous than Stevens' was.

While I don't agree with the decision, I can understand why is was made due to the past instances with Brashear. My issue with this all is that we shouldn't be praising and looking in awe over one hit, while condemning and saying how awful of a hit another one is when they are structurally the same thing.

Avery Fallout-- What's Next??

The hammer fell on Sean Avery, six games worth which is retroactive to Tuesday night-- so technically four games the rest of the time. On top of that, Avery will get anger management so the next tirade he goes on doesn't sound like Andrew Dice Clay in his prime or Michael "Kramer" Richards at the LA Improv.

So, that's that, right?? We're done with this, huh??

Not so much, because the big thing now is what's going to happen with his status with the Dallas Stars. Are the Stars going to pile-on some more games on top of it to prove a point?? Coach Dave Tippett has already said there's no room for Avery on the club and according to James Duthie, many Stars players are glad to see him gone.

With the writing on the wall in Dallas, is there's a trade avenue for Avery to turn down?? Odds are that he's a toxic commodity that not many teams would take a flier on. While he could be effective on the ice, the circus off the ice could be more than any team could handle, especially this deep into the season. It's one thing to bring in a class guy during the trade deadline to shake up team chemistry, but you may as well just write-off the season if you're interested in Avery.

Please note, that by saying that-- it has officially made the Tampa Bay Lightning interested in Avery to become their 358th forward for the year.

It seems that the Stars are going to be content with eating up Avery's salary for this year and then buy out his last three years in the off-season, that is assuming they want him gone that badly. That, in-turn, would make him a free agent and then others can pass him up for nothing. Then, without the NHL, what are Avery's options?? With the Manitoba Moose, one of the Stars many AHL affiliates for the season while their AHL affiliate gets set up for next year, has stated they don't want Avery under any circumstances.

One has to wonder: if Sean Avery becomes a free agent and doesn't have a gig in the NHL, will there be a minor league team to do the "Veeckian" thing and sign him just to get asses in the seats?? Is there a team in the minors who would risk the sanity of their players, risk the chemistry in the room, and be comfortable with not getting any worse just to get a firestorm of media coverage for signing Avery??

You have to think, if Avery is out in the open looking for a job and there's a team hurting at the gate-- someone will think of the bright idea of bringing him in to get the team name out there and to get some people in the seats. It's not something that you can throw in the garbage, because it's something that very well could possibly happen.

Is Europe an option for Avery?? Will he go over there in order to get the hottest fashion trends, whilst playing hockey for some random team with numbers in the team name and dots over the "o"s?? I doubt he'd go over there and I don't think they would want to expose their players to something like that.

Only time will tell right now, but for the time being we know this: Avery is suspended for four more games, he is currently a member of the Dallas Stars, and many don't want him in their locker room for one reason or another.

And the beat goes on.

The Avery Debacle

First, Let me preface this by saying that as an agitator on the ice, I believe Sean Avery is one of the best out there right now. He has all the tools to be a great player and decent scorer, but yet his mouth is what gets him the attention in the world and not his play on the ice.

Now, onto the comments that got him suspended indefinitely. My thing with what he said is that he needs to keep the personal life out of all of this, especially when he wasn't questioned about the whole thing. It seems that he really has a big bout of jealousy in regards to his ex-girl Elisha Cuthbert, especially since she has been linked to Calgary Flames' defenseman Dion Phaneuf. It wasn't enough people were prepping for the Avery-Jarome Iginla confrontation after Avery called Iginla "boring", then we had this whole thing with Phaneuf brewing.

However, kudos to the NHL for suspending him. Granted, the indefinite side of things is crap, but I think it was only due to the fact that they couldn't have reviewed it and given a solid number in the time they were given. Avery's commentary is not what the NHL needs, and while some would argue that this is Gary Bettman's way of shutting down someone who could draw attention to the league.....but it's not the right attention they would want. Fans are upset that the NHL stopped a possible huge beating of the NHL's most hated player, but that would be more negative attention the league would get and not need.

It's a very telling sign when many of Avery's teammates are SUPPORTING the NHL's decision. They don't seem to like him very much and what happens during the first game he was out?? They go out and win 3-1. Could Avery be the thing that was breaking apart the Stars?? If they go on a huge winning streak with Avery out-- will he be the blame for the early season disaster?? With three years left on his contract at $4M left on each year, it'll be hard to buy him out, but if they get better-- they may have to spend the money to do that.

We'll have to wait and see what the future holds for Avery, but who knows what could have been done had he kept his mouth shut and let his game do the talking for him.