HockeyCaps, Jackets trade, Team Canada picks and 30 thoughts

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It’s a good one for Columbus. The Blue Jackets are in an awful place right now, but Howson acquired two positive dressing-room forces. Milan Jurcina and Chris Clark don’t tip the balance of power in the Western Conference, but they bring levity to a room that desperately needs some. Jurcina, for example, wears leopard-skin skate guards. PJ Stock made him wear them as a rookie in Boston, and the defenceman still uses them for the hell of it. That’s pretty funny.

Neither guy cheats you on effort. Same goes for Jason Chimera, who will fit into the Clark role in Washington. George McPhee saves $2.4 million US in cap space, essential for a team that could barely breathe. Now, he can do something at deadline time.

Notice how neither team gave up a pick. Teams hate doing that now unless absolutely necessary, because the draft is so important in a cap world.

One final note: If I was Bruce Boudreau, Mike Knuble would be my next captain. People have told me he’s the guy Ovechkin really listens to, and ask the Flyers how much they miss him – on and off the ice.

Last week, CBC’s Tim Wharnsby posted the HNIC picks for Team Canada. Just wanted to reveal my own for your ridicule.

TEAM CANADA
Goal: Boring, as I have the same three as everyone else – Martin Brodeur (the go-to guy), Marc-Andre Fleury and Roberto Luongo.

Defence: They haven’t had great seasons, but Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer are going to be there. This is Canada’s least-experienced position. The team will be under enormous pressure and their experience is valuable.

Shea Weber and Dan Boyle are locks. People are about to realize what a great player Weber is.

For the same reason there is debate about selecting the entire Thornton-Heatley-Marleau line, I’d take both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. This is a high-intensity tournament, with little practice time. You need familiarity. They are the top defensive pairing on one of the NHL’s best teams. Good enough for me.

That leaves one spot. On merit, I’d give it to Drew Doughty. What a player he’s become; just a terrific talent. Here’s the thing, however: you have to break this down in terms of left side/right side. On the left side, there is Pronger/Niedermayer/Keith. On the right is Weber/Boyle/Seabrook. Even though the lefty shooters have experience, the righty guys have had better seasons (with Keith being the exception). Doughty shoots right. So does Mike Green, by the way.

Jay Bouwmeester shoots left, and that might just get him on. Plus, he has some experience at this level (2004 and 2006). I’d understand if he got the edge on Doughty for those reasons.

Forwards: The obvious four are Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf (“Babcock loves him,” several Red Wings say), Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash. It’s funny how so many predictions/picks vary from there.

Do you take all three Sharks? The best hockey Thornton ever played came at the 2004 Worlds. He was Canada’s number three centre, but scored six points in six games while playing brilliant two-way hockey. Really thought he should have been the Tournament MVP (it was Lecavalier, who led the team in scoring). With Crosby and Getzlaf here, it allows Thornton to play that role once again.

Heatley may not be the most popular guy in two Canadian markets, but he’s in. The guy I’m not sure about is Patrick Marleau. He’s just never been successful on a big stage. He’d be the one I don’t take.

So we’ve got three centres (Crosby, Getzlaf, Thornton) and three wingers (Iginla, Nash, Heatley).

Here’s how I’d fill out the rest of the roster:

The New Blood – Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry, Mike Richards, Jordan Staal. Pretty certain the first two are going to be there, anyway. Mike Babcock raved about Richards in a pre-season interview; comparing him to Henrik Zetterberg. The Flyers’ dismal season sure hurt his perception, but that doesn’t change his determination to win. He won’t have to worry about the captaincy or mantle of leadership here.

Staal isn’t on a lot of lists, but I’ve seen a ton of him over the past few years and am a big believer. He is a big-game guy, a perfect 13th forward because he can play centre or the wing. The other Penguin superstars hold the spotlight, but there’s no underestimating his importance. His shorthanded goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final really changed things. I don’t think Pittsburgh wins without it. He also took the final faceoff in Game 7 (although – in the interest of fairness – I should point out he lost it).

The Returnees – Martin St. Louis and Ryan Smyth. These aren’t sentimental picks; I don’t believe in that. St. Louis is third in the NHL in assists, ninth in points. In Italy, he said he had problems using his patented spin and shoot move. With the wider ice, he was missing the net. Won’t be a problem here, on the regular surface.

Smyth is another bubble guy. But, before injury, he had 23 points in 22 games. More importantly, look at Anze Kopitar’s production. Kopitar picked up at least one point in 18 of those 22 games, and led the league with 32 in total. After Smyth went down, he had just six in 15 games. Smyth may not be in white-hot hockey market, but he can still play and will accept any role.

That leaves one spot. When I submitted the list to Tim, Brenden Morrow was the choice. I also considered Mike Fisher, Brad Richards and Patrice Bergeron, and have wavered like a high-schooler picking his prom date. Eventually, you’ve got to settle on one guy, and, for me, it’s Richards. In Staal and Mike Richards, you have a checking centre or two. The problem in 2006 was scoring, so I don’t think you can have enough point producers. Look at the quality of goalies, look at the Russian lineup.

Brad Richards, with 32 assists and 42 points, is the choice. He can also play multiple positions.

Again, these are my choices, not a guess at Yzerman & company’s picks. In reality, I don’t think you’ll see Smyth or this particular Staal brother (Eric might make it).

30 thoughts:

1. Russia’s Olympic selection process was a joke. No Sergei Zubov, because he was injured and couldn’t play in a November event? Ridiculous. You’d think they learned their lesson when Maxim Sushinsky took big minutes away from their best in 2006, but no. Last year, Ilya Kovalchuk told Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin to end their feud so the three could concentrate on winning in Vancouver. If the players are willing to put team first, why not the coaches/executives?

2. Then again, the Russians are so talented, they might win in spite of goofy politics.

3. Initial reaction to the Alexander Semin contract? One agent said Semin left a lot of money on the table. But, in the summer of 2001, the Pittsburgh Penguins were surprised when Darius Kasparaitis happily accepted a below-market two-year, $2.4 million arbitration award. Why? Agent Mark Gandler pointed out that the second-year salary was below the NHL average, making the defenceman an unrestricted free agent. The Penguins didn’t see that coming, and had to trade him. Gandler represents Semin, and is clearly willing to take short-term gambles for long-term gains.

4. But, it also shows the Capitals are not yet convinced Semin will reach his full potential. No doubt their offers were below his expectations. It is up to him to prove them wrong.

5. Very surprised Mikael Samuelsson did not make the Swedish team. Same with Nicklas Bergfors.

6. Loved Samuelsson’s honest reaction: “I’ll probably regret saying this, but...They can go (bleep) themselves.” Yikes! Mike Gillis said on After Hours Saturday he thought Samuelsson would make it. Obviously, Samuelsson did too.

7. The night before the Swedes were announced, I told a pretty smart hockey guy I thought Peter Forsberg would make it. He laughed at me, saying, “He hasn’t played a meaningful game in five years.” The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. Got to believe he’ll be the guy dropped if the injured players return.

8. Walked up to Andrei Markov after the Canadiens’ skate in Toronto Saturday morning. He’s so quiet, we know so little about him. Asked him how he would describe himself, he smiled, thought about it, and said: “Shy Russian guy.”

9. Ryan O’Byrne has done some rooming with him. Who gets the remote? O’Byrne, because Markov “sits on the computer watching Russian TV.”

10. I think he’d be Montreal’s captain if he wasn’t so reserved. As one teammate added, “If you approach him with a hockey question, he’ll engage you. Otherwise, not so much.” He is universally respected in that room, however. And, he’ll never admit it, but it means a lot to him that people say he’s so important to the team.

11. Jacques Martin met with Jaroslav Halak (I think it was before the trade demand became public) to tell him, basically: “There’s no point in worrying about your future if you’re going to screw up the present.” Martin told him you still have to work hard and not pout even when you’re not happy.

12. Clearly, Halak got the message. Don’t know if you saw the post-game interview, but it’s obvious he understands he’s got to make the best of it. Glenn Healy said Halak will go to the KHL next year rather than return to Montreal. Way too early to make that decision.

13. As David Clarkson returns from his broken leg, a smart hockey guy (not me, obviously) wonders: If he had stayed healthy, would Clarkson have been Canada’s 13th forward?

14. Do not be surprised to see Jaromir Jagr back in the NHL next season. His contract with the KHL is up, and he will gauge interest.

15. Ray Shero’s big decision: 36-year-old UFA Sergei Gonchar for three/four years at $15-$20 million US, or 23-year-old RFA Kris Letang at $3-$4 million US per. Gonchar is such a huge part of the locker room, but at that price, Pittsburgh may have to say goodbye.

16. In 2010-11, Penguins have $41 million committed to 13 players. Then, it’s $36 million for seven in 2011-12, and $30 million US for just five guys in 2012-13. Those five guys: Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Orpik and Fleury. Critical pieces, absolutely. But, how many more big salaries can you carry, since Gonchar wouldn’t come off the cap as an over-35 contract?

17. Things got a little out-of-control on the Columbus-Washington rumours, to the point people were suggesting an Alzner/Filatov deal. I said George McPhee would be crazy to do that. Why? There is a decline in the number of Russian draftees, because not only do you have to fight to sign them, but you have to fight to keep them. Filatov has shown he’ll go home if he doesn’t like his situation. You can’t trade a prospect at Alzner’s level for that uncertainty.

18. Eric Staal may not make the Canadian Olympic Team, but some of the criticism he is taking is outrageous. True, he’s having a rough year (like everyone else in the organization), but it’s not as if he’s horribly overpaid – or the Hurricanes absolutely must get rid of him.

19. Luke Schenn’s advice to brother Brayden at the World Juniors: Bring your “A” game, because everybody is watching.

20. This is Miikka Kiprusoff getting beat from centre by Mason Raymond on Sunday night. (http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/strangest_goal_of_the_night/) So rare to see that from any goalie, but especially him. Teammates and coaches will tell you that he is one of the most alert and aware people they have ever met. He never gets caught by surprise. Until this.

21. The Flames’ inconsistency is surprising to me. In the 2004 playoffs, you could see opposing defencemen in fear of their forecheckers. Chris Clark, Chris Simon, Shean Donovan – they hit guys hard, but cleanly. That team was more than the sum of its parts. In the last few years, the Flames lost that hard-edged identity. They’ve got great top-end talent, but haven’t replaced those players on the third and fourth lines.

22. At the end of last night’s Vancouver/Calgary blowout, Alain Vigneault had Shane O’Brien and Jannik Hansen on the power play. First of all, it’s a reward to those players, which is nice. Second, it’s a class move. Opponents remember who tries to run up the score.

23. What did Justin Williams do in a previous life to deserve another long-term injury?

24. After bumbling the captaincy switch from Mike Modano to Morrow, credit the Dallas Stars for finding a better way to handle Modano’s switch from centre to the wing.

25. Francois Beauchemin talked a little Saturday night about the difference between shooting and getting good shots. Too often, the Maple Leafs pad their shot totals with long ones from outside. They don’t go to the hard areas to get traffic or create rebounds. Remember watching a Red Wings practice one year with Craig Simpson. He showed me how, when a shot was taken, the forwards went right to the net and stayed there. That’s what Toronto must do.

26. Nashville has allowed at least three goals in nine straight games. That’s very rare for a Barry Trotz team. What’s even more surprising: the offensively challenged Predators won five.

27. One coach once told me, “You learn a lot about your team the game after a brutal performance. How will they respond?” Ottawa had every reason to get clobbered in Buffalo Saturday night. Boxing Day road game (always a tough one), coming off an ugly loss in Pittsburgh, Alfredsson out. But, they outshot the Sabres 19-1 in the first and won in a shootout. That shows character.

28. Will be tough for Ottawa, though, to maintain it without Spezza and Alfredsson. Doesn’t help that Kovalev is at his enigmatic worst.

29. Jeff Carter scored in back-to-back games Saturday in Carolina and Sunday in Long Island. It was the first time he’d done that since the start of the season. Last year, he did it seven times. Also: there were two three-game streaks and one four-gamer.

30. Must-read (since many of you will have a little more time off this week): A Pittsburgh Tribune feature on one of the NHL’s friendliest players, Marc-Andre Fleury.

BONUS

31. Happy New Year. A great one to all of you and your families.

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