Hockey Night's Take 5
Last Updated: Friday, November 6, 2009 | 5:51 PM ET
By Tim Wharnsby, CBC Sports
Sean Avery is looking forward to a return to Calgary, where he made comments that got him kicked to the curb by the Dallas Stars last season. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)HNIC's senior online reporter Tim Wharnsby dishes out the latest news, buzz and inside information in the hockey world.
1. Forsberg draws (some) interest
Peter Forsberg returned to action in Sweden’s 4-3 win against Czech Republic on the opening day of the Karjala Cup, a four-team international tournament that concludes in Helsinki this weekend. He has played in only 15 games in the past two seasons due to his chronic foot problems and will decide after this event whether he desires a return to the NHL. Among the NHL teams that have interest are the Canucks, Rangers, Flyers and Avalanche. There was a report that he had agreed to deal to play in Russia this season, but Ak Bars Kazan vice-president Ravil Shavaleev told Sovietsky Sport, “We have conducted no negotiations with him, and I’ll tell you more: We haven’t even thought about inviting him.”
2. Avery welcomes return to scene of the crime
It was 11 months ago that Sean Avery arrived with the Dallas Stars in Calgary and made his garish remarks about Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf and his girlfriend, actor Elisha Cuthbert, whom Avery previously had dated. Avery subsequently was suspended indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the league or the game of hockey.” He never again played for Dallas and wound up rejoining the Rangers later last season. He hasn’t talked to Phaneuf since, but did apologize to Cuthbert for his remarks. Now, he returns to Calgary 11 months later with the Rangers for Hockey Night In Canada’s late game on Saturday. "Now that I think of it, I’m excited,” Avery, who has two goals and six points in 12 games, told the New York Post. “There are always tough games in that building, and that’s what I need.”
3. Despite droughts, goal scoring on average pace
When Patrice Bergeron beat Montreal goalie Carey Price in Boston’s 2-1 shootout loss, the goal ended a 192-minute, eight-second drought for the Bruins. In St. Louis, rookie Lars Eller scored his first NHL goal in his first game to snap the Blues goal-less dearth at 168:07. So where does the goal scoring rate after five weeks? Well, the average game has produced 5.81 goals per game, a smidge below the 5.83 of last season. When the NHL came out of the 2004-05 lockout with its new standard of officiating, goal scoring went up to 6.17 from the 5.14 goals per game in 2003-04, a season that produced a record 192 shutouts. So far in 2009-10, there have been 22 shutouts through 218 games, a pace that would result in 124 when the regular season concludes in April.
4. Yzerman eyes Olympic hopefuls
Steve Yzerman and the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey team management team ended four days together by scouting Detroit’s 2-1 shootout victory against San Jose on Thursday. They plan on meeting again early next month before selecting the 23-player roster on New Year’s Eve for the 2010 Vancouver Games.
5. No appeal for Liambis
Erie Otters general manager Sherry Bassin said overage forward Michael Liambas has no plans to appeal his season-long banishment for his vicious hit on 16-year-old Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli last Friday. Fanelli, who suffered skull and facial fractures, is recovering at Hamilton General Hospital. He was moved out of intensive care and into a private room. His condition remains stable, but serious.
