HockeyThe Nabokov mess and 30 thoughts

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Where will Evgeni Nabokov end up? Stay tuned. (Associated Press photo)

What a crazy world we live in. Evgeni Nabokov talks to Pierre LeBrun and hangs up on Garth Snow.

As of 12:30 am Monday morning, the word was Nabokov "appeared to be firm in his decision," according to a source, adamant in his refusal to play for the Islanders. Hours earlier, Snow told The New York Daily News he believed the ex-Shark "will come here. He's a professional."

That was after owner Charles Wang indicated to the same newspaper another round of waivers was "unlikely," because Nabokov probably wouldn't clear. Section 13.23 of the NHL's CBA means Snow can't trade the goaltender without waivers until Gary Bettman hands out the Stanley Cup.

So, whose resolve is stronger: Nabokov's? Or the Islanders?

I understand why Snow made this claim. His team is finally showing some life when two goalies go down (although we're getting to the point where Rick DiPietro should always be listed as "day-to-day"). He wants to give the young players some hope and Nabokov shows up on the waiver wire at a bargain basement price. I would've done the exact same thing - with one major exception.

Snow never called agent Don Meehan to gauge interest. (No one did, except for Detroit.) The last thing this organization needed was another public embarrassment. Now, the Islanders - who already have enough troubles attracting players - risk a showdown with Newport Sports, the largest agency in the NHL.

That's really Nabokov's best hope here, the Islanders backing down to avoid conflict. Otherwise, he doesn't have leverage. Ultimately, it was his decision to bypass lesser NHL offers and accept a four-year, $24 million offer in the KHL. Players know the rules: if you want to come back mid-season, it's much more complicated than picking a team.

If the Islanders stand firm, Nabokov has bigger reasons to report than being "a professional." Thanks to the Alexei Yashin precedent, going into witness protection means he will be under contract to the Islanders again next year at $570,000. That will be $45,000 above the minimum.

If Nabokov is serious about resuming his NHL career, I'd bet that's more distasteful than playing on Long Island.

30 THOUGHTS

1. Sources say Wayne Gretzky turns 50 on Wednesday. He remains estranged from the NHL, upset that a settlement was never reached on his reported $7-$8 million/year contract. The NHL's position is that this was a personal-services deal with deposed owner Jerry Moyes, so it's not responsible. I get that from a legal perspective, but common sense dictates otherwise.
2. Look, the league wanted deeper expansion into the U.S., and that never happens without Gretzky. He stood up for the Coyotes at great public cost in Canada when Jim Balsillie tried to move them. As long as he's willing to make a reasonable deal and not get everything (and I've been told he is) there;s no excuse for this to continue. The NHL needs Wayne Gretzky kissing babies.
3. I get the sense the league lacks much sympathy for Nabokov, but what about guys such as Marek Svatos or Kyle Wellwood? They really didn't have NHL options. The waiver rule was created because Reijo Ruotsalainen joined Edmonton on March 5, 1987 for a Cup run - after his Swiss season ended. Would a Jan. 1 deadline for such players to return without waivers be worthwhile?

4. Chris Osgood denied saying, "The Islanders are terrible so I'm not sure why they did that," a quote widely attributed to him on Saturday. (It's been pulled from The Associated Press story.) I could see that type of comment from him, though, which is why he'd be a great broadcaster after his career. He prefers coaching, however.

5. Quietly, Eugene Melnyk has begun gauging the interest of potential GM candidates. Apparently, one possibility was asked how he'd feel about Bryan Murray remaining in the organization, which fits with Ottawa-area reports from the weekend. (Murray would likely be some kind of senior consultant.)
6. So, who's out there? There are already rumours about Peter Chiarelli coming home, but he's under contract until 2014. Two others on the radar: Ron Hextall and Julien BriseBois. Of course, there will be more.
7. One conspiracy theory on why Melnyk won't make any coaching/front office changes until the end of the season: It may give players (Mike Fisher, Chris Phillips) more incentive to waive their no-trade clauses.
8. There is a feeling around the league that Ales Hemsky (who has concussion issues) and Dustin Penner are available for the right price. Of course, the Oilers need what everyone needs - centremen and defencemen.
9. A healthy Hemsky gets you more than Penner, but there is no doubt Penner's play on a bad Oilers team over the past two years has changed a lot of the negative perceptions about him.
10. Thought it made logical sense for the league to count Alex Tanguay's shootout winner Saturday night in Vancouver, but what's missing is a quick, viable explanation. During the playoffs, hockey operations posts the rationale of its reviews on a website for fans/media to read. It's time to do that in the regular season, as well.
11. I'm not a conspiracy theorist (although there is no way Oswald acted alone), but if the league really wants to gain trust, there is a solution. All replay reviews could be carried live into the television network(s) broadcasting the games. That means a camera/microphones in the war room, only to be used when something is being looked at. You can't argue with that transparency.
12. Last week, CHL president David Branch told CBC Radio's Teddy Katz, "We still have too many concussions in our league" despite a zero-tolerance head-shot rule. That's why it may be more likely for NHL GMs to agree on changes to concussion response rather than addressing contact. It's not being said publicly out of sensitivity to the Penguins, but there is a feeling allowing Sidney Crosby to return is a bigger concern than David Steckel's hit. For example, if the trainer comes out to see a player after a head/neck collision, should he be allowed back into the game?
13. Steckel on accusations he hit Crosby on purpose: "Everybody has an opinion, I can't control that. I know it was incidental contact. It wasn't intentional. I was heading back up the ice." (He's getting sick of it, though. As I asked him about it, he said, "Oh, you want to talk about that, do you?" But he answered everything politely.)
14. After Dean Lombardi was fined $50,000 for his neutron bomb at Mike Murphy, there was plenty of, "So a guy gets a huge fine for saying something and only $2,500 for a dangerous on-ice play." That's in the CBA because of previous NHL president Gil Stein. Stein would fine players and suspend them from practice, not games. The teams loved that, the players not so much.
15. Liked how Lombardi didn't duck, didn't offer an excuse, admitted his mistake and apologized. If you have no accountability as an executive, you can't expect any from your players.
16. Tomas Fleischmann was setting himself up for a big UFA payday thanks to 21 points in 22 games with Colorado. With blood clot issues in each of the past two years, will teams be scared off? Or, can doctors convince them otherwise?
17. Most surprising thing I heard from Saku Koivu? That San Jose told him it would draft him in 1993. Can't imagine he would have been the Sharks' first pick though, it was sixth overall. Maybe they were thinking second round, which was seven selections after the Canadiens. Then again, Koivu was a better choice than Viktor Kozlov, who San Jose did take 15 spots higher than him.
18. Is it possible that we overrated Washington's scoring? Understand that Eric Fehr and Alexander Semin are out right now, but is that roster really as loaded as we thought?
19. It's come up a couple of times this week, but Ted Leonsis' public criticisms are really being felt by his players. They want to win as much as he does, but wonder if he recognizes that. Hard, though, to be critical of someone who's so accessible.
20. The Capitals were very impressed with Alexander Ovechkin's blocked shot at the end of their 4-1 win over Toronto, but I also got the feeling they would like to see that kind of effort more often. No doubt in my mind, he's decided to save it for the playoffs.  Now, let's see if it works.
21. Ovechkin, however, deserves enormous praise for his treatment of four-year-old Owen Ochakovsky. Owen's father, James, was a Peel Police constable who died in a car crash last year. Ovechkin made time for him after the morning skate and during the pre-game warmup. The Russian winger knows what it's like to lose a close family member.
22. Braden Holtby's father, Greg, played goal for the Saskatoon Blades behind Wendel Clark, Joey Kocur, Grant Jennings and Todd McLellan. Any similarities between them? "Not really," Greg said. "I'm five-foot-six and he's six-foot-one."
23. Dallas resuscitated Kari Lehtonen's career. Wonder if it will try the same thing with Brian Elliott. The Stars' goalie coach, Mike Valley, is Elliott's personal guru.
24. Cory Emmerton scored his first NHL goal on Saturday. When the Red Wings were acquiring Todd Bertuzzi from Florida, the Panthers initially asked for Emmerton. But Detroit wanted to keep him, so Shawn Matthias went instead.
25. Follow-up to last week's item on Alex Goligoski: A team did ask Pittsburgh about him and was told Goligoski is not available.
26. One of the reasons Jeff Skinner scored huge points with Carolina teammates this year? Little things, like waiting outside the team's plane until all the other players have selected their seats. Those kinds of moves go a long way.
27. Last week, wrote about how the Maple Leafs were trying to get Dion Phaneuf to control his shot. Asked him about it this week: "I haven't adjusted my shot at all." So there!
28. Jean-Sebastien Giguere on something his team must improve: "When we play well, we practise poorly. When we play poorly, we practise well." Wouldn't be surprised if Giguere is back in Toronto next year, at a much-lower salary. His leadership is important.
29. Credit to Joshua Cooper of The Tennessean for pointing out that Pekka Rinne's goalie coach, Mitch Korn, also worked with Dominik Hasek. Hasek was the master of leaving his stick along the goal-line.
30. Prediction: Sedin twins go last in the All-Star draft. They can handle it.

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