HockeyOn Doughty, Turris & leverage, plus 30 Thoughts

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Kyle Turris, centre, has been slow to develop for Phoenix, but showed signs of promise late last season. The Coyotes would be loathe to trade Turris, who is just 22 years old. (Ralph Freso/Associated Press)

It's all about leverage.

Sometimes you wield it; sometimes you eat it. The key is knowing  which one you have to do.

Drew Doughty and the Phoenix Coyotes wield it. Kyle Turris and the Los Angeles Kings won't like it, but they're going to have to eat it. It's not about who's right and who's wrong, it's about sitting back and thinking realistically.

Right now, Los Angeles must realize its "take less for the team" sales pitch is not working. GM Dean Lombardi, a former agent, showed his frustration on Friday, threatening to decrease any offer to Doughty for every day the defenceman remains absent.

I certainly can understand why he's so upset; this is a huge season for the Kings and Doughty is critical. (It's also a reminder of why Lombardi is arguably the best quote in the NHL and would be an all-time great as a TV analyst should he ever decide to be one.)

The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that Bobby Ryan stepped away from Don Meehan to sign his contract with Anaheim last season. No doubt, the Kings are going to try that, assuming they haven't already. But, if it doesn't work, Lombardi's the one who's going to have to bend. If you polled 29 other GMs on whether they'd rather have Doughty or Anze Kopitar, the majority are going to take Doughty. "He's their best player," said several.

There's a lot bubbling under the surface here. Meehan, who represents Doughty, also did Kopitar's first NHL contract. The forward switched agents before his $48 million US megadeal in 2008, which is undoubtedly another factor in all of this. It's also why Kings loyalists are referring to Doughty as "a pawn."

Whatever the case, the most important thing to do is think clearly.

Lombardi must avoid history. In 2002, Meehan clients Evgeni Nabokov and Brad Stuart missed the start of camp in contract disputes with Lombardi's former team, the San Jose Sharks.

A couple of different sources said that situation "ripped the team apart." They finished last in the Pacific Division, leading to the firings of both Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter. It's like "The Ring 2." Does Hollywood really want to see this sequel?

If the Kings can't get Doughty to change his stance (and soon), the team must adjust its approach. (Again, word around the league is LA will not trade him.) By offering longer-term deals, Los Angeles is trying to buy some of his unrestricted free agency. Doughty would likely make more than $6.8 mil as a UFA, and the Kings have to recognize that. If Lombardi finds this unacceptable, he should shorten the term. 

It's far from perfect, but it's better than what exists now.

Phoenix centre Turris, meanwhile, very nicely and politely declined comment when asked to chat over the weekend. But, he doesn't have Doughty's firepower, with Coyotes GM Don Maloney rising to Lombardi-like levels by saying, Turris "can stay at home and watch Oprah."

(Maloney may be the one person in North America who didn't realize Oprah ended her show last season. Maybe he's a Jerry Springer guy.)

It's unfortunate Turris declined to speak, because I would like to hear his side of the story. There are plenty of rumours he wants to be traded. (I saw him last December and he said he was happy. Maybe something changed. One thing I do know: there aren't many players who hate playing for Dave Tippett. Guys really like him.)

Turris is a scary player to trade. Just because he hasn't yet reached his potential doesn't mean he won't. He's only 22. Teams live in fear of dealing someone who can develop into a star somewhere else, which is why Maloney probably won't do it without extracting a heavy price.

But Turris can't expect an extremely budget-conscious team like Phoenix to open the vault based on potential. Josh Bailey probably didn't like the two-year, $2.1 million deal he got with the Islanders. But, like Turris, he didn't have leverage.

Take a short deal, Kyle. You can't afford to miss time. Then, if you develop the way you can, you'll do the wielding, not the eating.

30 THOUGHTS

1. Through no fault of his own, Kopitar's been tossed into the middle of an inferno. How he handles this may be the single biggest determining factor in the Kings' season. If he's angry, it could seriously damage the team. He seems like a good guy from my (limited) dealings with him, but would any of us appreciate being exposed in this way?

2. So let me get this straight: Parents are arguing about who is going to pay for baseline tests in minor hockey. How much does the test cost? $25. How much are these same parents spending on their kids' sticks?

3. Last week, the BC Sports Hall of Fame inducts Trevor Linden, Olympic snowboard champion Maelle Ricker and local members of the 2010 Gold Medal men's hockey team. Who gets the most tepid response? Roberto Luongo. Riding your goalie before the season even starts is a guaranteed recipe for failure.

4. Canucks fans may want Cory Schneider, but what if he gets hurt or doesn't play well? If you want the best possible chance at returning to the Stanley Cup Final, support Luongo, whether you like it or not. Some people, no matter how hard they try, can't block out the negative reaction. Luongo is one of them.

5. If Tom Gagliardi successfully purchases the Stars in bankruptcy court, a couple of executives have a question: how much will the owners "put on the board" the first time Dallas and Vancouver play one another?

6. The whole Dustin Byfuglien poundage controversy is another example of why no one should put any credence into height/weight listings in any sport. Back when I covered basketball, one coach told me that players always exaggerated height by one or two inches (kind of like online dating, eh ladies?). Meanwhile, Oliver Miller had it in his contract he be listed no higher than 285. Just because Byfuglien's NHL.com bio says 265 doesn't mean he actually weighed that

7. The Jets contacted Teemu Selanne about a return engagement, but they had competition. Sounds like some serious contenders were trying to poach him from Anaheim as recently as mid-August. But Selanne made it clear: Ducks or nobody.

8. Zach Bogosian came to terms before camp, but word now is he'd decided there was no way he was going to sit out. Apparently, the team made it very clear that whatever problems he had with the coaches in Atlanta would be irrelevant in Winnipeg. New city, fresh slate.

9. Both Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges are guys who really care about the Canadiens. Don't understand why the team would give Markov three years and risk losing Gorges next summer as a UFA with both coming off major knee injuries. Especially now that Markov's return is uncertain, the strategy seems even stranger.

10. One doctor said to me that it's a good sign Sidney Crosby is starting to do more interviews. That indicates how much he's improving. The doctor said that, when you're not close and repeatedly are asked how you're doing, the stress really gets to you and can actually hurt your recovery. We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves here, because we still have no idea when he'll be back, but I thought that was encouraging.

11. Crosby has a lot of good neighbours in Nova Scotia (with the exception of Bruce Rainnie.) I was at a golf tournament in Halifax this summer when a few people told me they lived near the Penguins captain. I was being polite, not really fishing for anything when I asked, "Have you seen him around?" and they totally clammed up. It was as if everyone in Cole Harbour took a blood vow of secrecy.

12. Was waiting with Martin St. Louis before our scheduled interview at the NHL junket in New York earlier this month. Holding an empty bottle of water, he pointed at a garbage can about 20 feet away. "If I get this in, I don't have to do the interview, ok?" he said. Should've known never to bet against him. He still did the interview, though.

13. St. Louis on Tampa's very positive 2010-11 season: "That's last year. No longer matters."

14. Don't understand why anyone would think John Tavares made a mistake signing a six-year extension with the Islanders. Clearly, he loves it there. Clearly, it's been good for him on and off the ice. The team is tied to Long Island until 2015. If it doesn't work out, he can pick his next NHL home when he's 27. What's so bad about that?

15. GMs didn't have many complaints with Tyler Myers getting $38 million. "He had 48 points two years ago and 37 in what was supposedly a down year for him [last season]," one said. "You figure he'll get better and in arbitration, that's what those guys get." However, these same GMs would like to see Buffalo stop cutting $10 million cheques for signing bonuses.
16. Myers, by the way, spent a lot of time this summer working on his shot. He had Alexei Zhitnik's "no accuracy" disease.

17. Lots of debate about what the Sabres will do to get down to the cap. (They are $3.6 million over.) Darcy Regier says he's confident he'll be able to make a move. With some GMs, that means there's already something done pending what happens in the preseason. In a league where depth is arguably the most valuable commodity, there's no sense in making a deal unless you absolutely have to. Remember Vancouver? There were endless debates over who would be moved to make room for Sami Salo. By the time he got back, three other defencemen were hurt. Worse comes to worse, I don't see Terry Pegula getting overly upset about eating a contract or two.

18. Buffalo doesn't really have room for surplus defencemen, but Chris Butler (part of the Robyn Regehr package to Calgary) had a few Eastern Conference fans among opponents. A couple coaches said the Sabres will miss him.

19. One longer-shot prospect who impressed at Traverse City? Dallas's Brenden Dillon. Undrafted, the Stars signed him as a free agent during the summer. Don't know if he's NHL-ready yet, but he's going to get there.

20. Word on Bryan McCabe was that he didn't want to go far from Florida, where his family is very happy. Atlanta moving really cut down his options. Its been reported the Canucks, Blues and Islanders are interested, but does he want to go?

21. Toronto fans don't remember McCabe fondly but, there's one thing he did I'll always remember. The year after the lockout, Ottawa manhandled Toronto three straight times by a combined 23-2. The first of those games was an 8-0 slaughter where the Leafs were down 3-0 after one. Leaf after Leaf walked by, not wanting to discuss it. McCabe stopped and did. When I thanked him after the game, he said, "I've got a letter on my jersey. I've got to answer for that."

22.  Cam Ward started 74 games for the Hurricanes last season. Normally, in a year like that, the backup faces the dregs of the NHL. Not this time. The eight teams Ward didn't start against included six playoff teams: the Kings, Flyers, Penguins, Lightning, Blackhawks and Capitals. Paul Maurice clearly saved Ward for games he felt he had a better chance of winning. Guessing he will have more confidence in Brian Boucher for some of those nights.

23. Wade Redden wasn't invited to the main Rangers training camp, but word is he's trying to keep positive and believe things will work out for the best. There was hope that maybe one of the teams needing to get to the floor (Florida, for example) might go after him, but that didn't materialize.

24. You'll remember that following the completion of the last CBA, there was a one-time amnesty to buy out contracts without penalty. (Detroit did it with Derian Hatcher.) That will likely be Redden's best chance to get back, allowing another team to sign him to a new deal.

25. Very curious to see how much Brendan Smith pushes for a roster spot in Detroit over the next two weeks. With many other teams, he'd already be a lock. Smith said Nicklas Lidstrom had a special message for him when he was around during playoff time last year: "There's no rush. When you're ready, you'll be here."

26. At the NHLPA Rookie event a few weeks ago, had a funny exchange with Senator prospect David Rundblad. Mentioned to him that, as things went off the rails in Ottawa last season, one of the things fans looked forward to was prospects like him playing this season. He wanted zero part of that conversation.

27. Junior teammates of Avalanche prospect Gabriel Landeskog joked that it was almost impossible to make him angry. He laughed at that. "So what does make you angry?" He smiled and said, "Losing."

28. A week ago, there were some serious questions raised about the New Jersey Devils' finances. The belief is the minority owners who wanted to sell their shares was asking too much. Now, the story to watch for is if a lower price will find a new buyer or those owners simply pay Jeff Vanderbeek to take full control.

29. Posted the link yesterday on twitter about Earl Cook, the incredibly inspiring Red Wings fan who died on the weekend. Last year, I was at a morning skate for a game Earl also attended. Turned to my left, and while Mike Babcock was scrumming with the media, Cook was wearing Chris Osgood's glove and blocker, pretending to make saves on the floor. I had to leave the room I was laughing so hard. Invest the time in the story, it's a great piece of work

30. Even if it's just exhibition hockey, it's about time we dropped the puck.

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