Geez where do I even start.

I want to start with the aftermath of the Free Agent Frenzy, but instead I need to talk about the Team Canada summer selection camp. Can someone tell me why I am talking about this. This is one of those things that get announced and you're supposed to go "yah...makes sense".... especially after the 2006 squad that was.... not a good squad. Com'n folks let's make some good life choices.

NO. MARC. SAVARD. you kidding me. arg.

Now this camp is not the end of the line. The final decisions are made before December. So Savard could still make a case for himself. But it just became that much harder. I'm not going to rant about this much longer since this is something i've ranted a few times about. I'm just going to point out that these are Marc Savard's stats for the past three years:


Year --- Team - GP - G - A - Pts

2006-07 BOS - 82 - 22 - 74 - 96
2007-08 BOS - 74 - 15 - 63 - 78
2008-09 BOS - 82 - 25 - 63 - 88


here's a rundown of the invitees:

Goalies: Martin Brodeur, Marc-André Fleury, Roberto Luongo, Steve Mason, Cam Ward

Defense: François Beauchemin, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Robyn Regehr, Stéphane Robidas, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, Shea Weber

Forwards: Jeff Carter, Dan Cleary, Sidney Crosby, Shane Doan, Simon Gagné, Ryan Getzlaf, Dany Heatley, Jarome Iginla, Vincent Lecavalier, Milan Lucic, Patrick Marleau, Andy McDonald, Brenden Morrow, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Mike Richards, Derek Roy, Joe Sakic, Patrick Sharp, Ryan Smyth, Martin St. Louis, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Toews

Canadiens.

O.K. so from under-rated (Marc Savard) to completely over-rated (see: Scott Gomez, post rookie season). At first glance when I saw the trade that sent Chris Higgins packing for overpaid, underachiever Scott Gomez I was furious. But after seeing some of the other moves Gainey made i'm a bit less likely to call for his head.... maybe just a leg??

A few people have asked me what I thought would fix the Canadiens after such a dismal attempt at making a go of their 100th season.

My answer: get a new team.

Ok my answer included a lot more expletives but it was along that train... besides the point anyways.

Get a new team is actually kinda what Gainey did. Now i'm not forgiving the dumbness of sending Chris Higgins who seems to always score a clutch goals, but at least it seems he did the rest of the task correctly.

He just let people go. He cleaned house. Doesn't matter how much it hurts, just rip that band-aid off. He let Saku Koivu go, which is sad, but it needed to happen. But also: Alex Tanguay, Tom Kostopoulos, Mathieu Schneider, Mathieu Dandenault, Francis Bouillon and Patrice Brisebois.

If that's not starting the eff over, I don't know what is.

They also lost Mike Komisarek to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's a bit concerning since he's going to a rival. But after last years playoff performance, i'm ok with it.

The Canadiens still have to sign Kovalev, but they did sign Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta to contracts. Both small players, but very fast and exciting.

Overall the moves on Canada Day are a win, i guess, maybe...

Well it's a definitely a win if you're comparing it to....

The poor poor Ottawa Senators with their whiny sniper Dany Heatley who's got the team handcuffed with his long contract and no-trade clause that he's choosing to invoke when convenient for him.

"I want a trade... but not that one"

I think if a player walks into the General Managers room and says "I want a trade", that should null and void his no-trade clause. They gave him that clause because Heatley was making a long-term committment to the Senators and was saying "i don't want to move, and i don't want to be a rental player at the end of a season when my contract is up".

Yzerman appointment today.

Told you so.

September 18.
"Who will fill Gretzky's shoes? It's not really about filling them, and more about throwing them the hell through a window and finding a new pair. As I've stated before, the 2006 Men's Olympic Hockey Team was probably the worst possible team you could have chosen. (Please see: leaving Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby at home = dumb, dumb, dumb.)

As I posted already, I think we've already found a new pair of shoes. Steve Yzerman."

The official appointment will happen today in about an hour and a half. You can watch the press conference live.

Dear National Post,

I don't usually go out on limbs and make predictions. But damnit National Post, you've forced me into it.

Below you will read the piece you ran that Ed Willes wrote. To be frank. You're insane. I know it's not entirely your fault, Ed Willes writes for the Vancouver Province. But you still ran it in the national paper.

"Who out there can fill Gretzky's shoes? Who has the necessary experience to step in to the most difficult job in hockey?" you say. "Sure, you hear the name of Detroit general manager Ken Holland. And Edmonton's Kevin Lowe. And Montreal's Bob Gainey."

Who will fill Gretzky's shoes? It's not really about filling them, and more about throwing them the hell through a window and finding a new pair. As I've stated before, the 2006 Men's Olympic Hockey Team was probably the worst possible team you could have chosen. (Please see: leaving Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby at home = dumb, dumb, dumb.)

As I posted already, I think we've already found a new pair of shoes. Steve Yzerman.

You're only mention of Yzerman is, "A lot of people believe Steve Yzerman has been groomed for the job." No kidding Sherlock Holmes. There's a reason for that, he's managed the past two teams for the World Championships. Both have medalled. Already a better track record then Gretzky.

Of course, you've buried Yzerman down about half way through your article. For gawdsakes, you mentioned Bobby Clarke ahead of Yzerman. How much bourbon did you down before you sat at your typewriter?

Sincerly,
The National Passtime

Canada won’t win hockey gold without proper management

Ed Willes, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008

VANCOUVER -- Now that Wayne Gretzky has announced he won't head the management team for Team Canada in 2010, it appears Hockey Canada will be scrambling to find a suitable replacement.

Who out there can fill Gretzky's shoes? Who has the necessary experience to step in to the most difficult job in hockey? Sure, you hear the name of Detroit general manager Ken Holland. And Edmonton's Kevin Lowe. And Montreal's Bob Gainey.

But who, other than those three, has the necessary credentials to lead the Maple Leaf into Vancouver?

What's that? Well yes, one supposes Carolina's Jim Rutherford would be a good candidate. And Buffalo's Darcy Regier. And San Jose's Doug Wilson. But this is the Olympics were talking about. We can't entrust the national team to just anyone.

Can we?

Well, now that you mention it, Bob Clarke has done the job before. And Glen Sather has a ton of international experience. A lot of people believe Steve Yzerman has been groomed for the job. And there's Steve Tambellini.

So maybe there are competent hockey men around who could step in to Gretzky's position. And, maybe, when you come right down to it, the job of picking a hockey team from the extraordinary talent pool in Canada really isn't that difficult.

It's just that, sometimes, the men entrusted with the task make it look that way.

While we still have a way to go until 2010, this week's developments signalled the beginning of the public watch which has been part of the Team Canada selection process since 1998.

Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson will likely have his executive director in place by the end of October. Then the coaching staff will be named towards the end of the 2008-09 season. Finally, the roster will be submitted in December 2009.

There will, of course, be a familiar sense of intrigue and drama around the proceedings. You just hope whoever Nicholson chooses as executive director will do things differently this time because there's been something amiss with Team Canada in each of the last three Olympics.

It starts at the top. I mean, do they really need four men to run the team? In 1996 it was Nicholson, Clarke, Gainey and then-Ottawa general manager Pierre Gauthier. In ‘02 and ‘06 it was Nicholson, Gretzky, Lowe and Tambellini.

Gretzky has also said he wants to stay involved for 2010. That isn't going to make the group any smaller.

The wonder, in fact, is how they can fit everyone in the team picture. In Nagano there were five coaches, led by Marc Crawford. In Salt Lake, Pat Quinn had a staff of just four but, four years later, there were six coaches in Turin.

This, we might add, doesn't include all the Hockey Canada functionaries.

So were there too many cooks for Team Canada? Well, there was a seventh-place finish in ‘06 and a fourth in ‘98. They also won the gold in Salt Lake, for which they don't have to apologize. But they also received a massive break when Latvia upset Sweden in the quarter-final round.

Somehow, those results aren't consistent with the calibre of players available in Canada. Then again, you have to wonder if the best players were taken to the Olympics.

In Nagano, the team included grinders like Rob Zamuner, Trevor Linden, Shayne Corson and Keith Primeau. Not surprisingly, they had trouble scoring goals.

The ‘02 team, admittedly, was better. But in ‘06 they eschewed young flyers like Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby for players like Todd Bertuzzi, Ryan Smyth and Kris Draper, and were shut out three times.

Were there other issues? Of course. But you wonder if they would have been as significant if we'd sent our best. Instead, the selectors seemed more concerned with filling roles and manufacturing chemistry than picking a team that would kick butt and take names.

This time around, you'd like to see the best GM, Holland, pick the best coach, Detroit's Mike Babcock, and the 23 best players.

It's a crazy idea but it might just work.

Yzerman to lead Olympic team?

Bob MacKenzie of Tsn is reporting that Steve Yzerman will take over the Executive Director position of Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. This comes shortly after Wayne Greztky said he would not stay in the position after failing to medal in 2006 (Turin).

Probably a pretty good call on Hockey Canada's part. Since the team that Gretzky left home in 2006 was the team that would have medaled. (Who leaves home Sidney Crosby? And takes Todd Bertuzzi instead... i could go on forever about the debacle that was the 2006 Canadian Men's Olympic Hockey team, and I probably will one of these days.)

Full Story:

Sources tell TSN Wayne Gretzky has indicated to Hockey Canada that he is willing to be part of the management team for 2010, he has made it clear he is not interested in reprising his role as executive director.

Sources tell TSN that Steve Yzerman is expected to be named executive director of the Canadian Olympic team. Gretzky himslef said he would only be interested in an advisory role although it is still possible emerge as one of any number of candidates to be head coach of the team.

In 2000, Gretzky was named Executive Director of Canada's 2002 men's team. His duties included overseeing all hockey operations, and making the final decision on all personnel and player selections. Team Canada won its first gold medal with a 5-2 over the host Americans, ending a 50-year drought for the country's men's hockey teams.

Gretzky was also Executive Director for Canada at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, where the team finished seventh.

Yzerman, who works in the Detroit Red Wings' front office, was general manager of Team Canada for the 2007 and 2008 World Championships and put together silver and gold medal-winning squads over the last two springs.

Karma was not on their side.

It all started when Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves (and you know my sentiments about baseball) said that he thought Sidney Crosby was a "Great, young American athlete."

Wait, wait, wait... what? Back that bookmobile up. Great? check. Young? you bet. Athlete? obviously... what was that third thing, again? American? nope. Someone hit the "YOU'RE WRONG!" buzzer. Poor ol' Glavine is gonna be feeling pretty sad when Crosby is tearing up the USA at the Olympics.

Then Joe Louis public address announcer Budd Lynch called him Steven Crosby. For a bit I tried to rationalize it... I looked across the room at a perplexed Garreth and said. "oh he's just old, I think he said Sidney... maybe". No I don't think he said Sidney, he definietely said Steven. Did he look at the wrong part of the page? Maybe he confused it with Steve Yzerman, who was coming out for the ceremonial face-off. Of course that would only makes partial sense because it's Steve Yzerman, not Steven. Awww, whatever he was born in 1917.


Before that, Marc-Andre Fleury fell flat on his face in front of the entire crowd in Detroit. He was attempting to do his super-run onto the ice for the beginning of the game, but instead did a face plant into the ice. It was slightly less embarrassing than when that anthem singer fell that time, but still embarrassing. I won't lie, I laughed.

But again... the karma. It's almost like the ghosts of Ottawa, New York and Philadelphia were cursing every step the Penguins took. (except when that goal got called back... more on that in a bit.) The Pens looked flat, were making bad passes, and they seemed to collectively trip just like poor ol' Fleury.

On top of it all, how many times were Detroit fans staring in horror as the puck sat idly in front of an open net with nobody on the Penguins able to pull the trigger. The answer is, A lot.

Back to that goal that was called back. If you didn't catch it, here's the recap: Holmstrom was in front of the crease and had his stick in "groin area" of Fleury. The Penguins, who seemed to be paying an ungodly amount of attention to the right-wing, didn't really notice Lidstrom pinch in on the left. The puck squirted over to him and he sent a rocket of a shot to the roof. The goal was called back because of "goaltender interference" and when a ref does that the rulebook states that the perpetrator must go to the box and feel shame for two minutes. So off paraded Holmstrom to the box and Mike Babcock looked like he might blow an artery.

I'm not saying that it wasn't goaltender interference, i'm sure any male would cringe in terror of the thought of getting smacked with a stick in the groin. But it's not like Holmstrom full out Chris Simon'd him. Let's just say if it was Henrik Zetterberg, they probably wouldn't have called it.

But I have to say I agree. In this case, I condone a double-standard. And before you hang me out to dry, let me explain. Holmstrom has a history of keeping his butt a little too close to the goaltender, and there's not really a rule against it becuase that toe-in-the-crease rule is thankfully gone. But, if you look at the replays of Holmstrom in front of the net, he is obviously obstructing the goaltender. A message needed to be sent, and sent early in the series. If you are going to call Sean Avery's shananigans a penalty than what Holmstrom does in front the of the net needs to be as well. There was a goal called back last series for the exact same reason, and he obviously didn't learn. My advice? Holmstrom, you're a big guy, just take a step forward. You'll still be screening the goaltender.

Standings

Isn't it a sight of beauty!


Speaking of standings, it appears that the Leafs can't even lose properly. What are they doing?! Normally a team that wins 9 of their last 14 games you want to congratulate, but geez guys, you're pretty much all but mathematically out of the playoffs, In fact, i think if these guys keep winning, they'll probably finish 1 point out of the playoffs and they'll continue their tradition of mediocrity. so why win the games? finish last! dead last. get the top pick in the draft. Seriously, have someone take of the knees of Kaberle and Sundin, Nancy Kerrigan style if you've got to.... just save yourselves Leafs!

Steve Yzerman who is one of my favourite people ever, was on TSN the other day for a 1-on-1 with James Duthie to talk about the upcoming World Championships. The tournament will be held between the two cities of Halifax and Quebec in May 2007. I am always torn about this tournament because to have a player like... say hometown boy Sidney Crosby in the lineup, you must wish ill to the Pittsburgh Penguins playoff run.
(I tried to upload the video yesterday but it keeps giving me an error and i haven't received a help answer back from blogger help. So we're stuck with a link for the time being.)

Little known fact of the day: Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier will be playing apart for the first time in a long time. The two played together at Notre Dame College in Saskatchewan at age 14, played Major Junior hockey together for the Rimouski Oceanic, and then managed to both get drafted to the Tampa Bay Lightening.