Jim Kelley says there are a number of things worth paying attention to in the NHL in 2008, starting with the Winter Classic effect.
This is the time of the year when most every media outlet in the country is running at least one story regards the year in review.
I’ll make a concession to that: 2007 was the year of the bad boy in the National Hockey League. Nasty little acts by many of the so-called "policemen" -- the defenders of "the code" -- pulled in record suspensions in 2007. New York Islanders forward Chris Simon led the way with "hits" that earned him 25 and 30 games, but the Philadelphia Flyers upstaged him with a series of "take-a-seat" hits that had the Flyers resembling the Charlestown Chiefs of the movie "Slapshot" fame until commissioner Gary Bettman laid down a serious warning.
Other than that, not much happened. Another expansion team, this one a collection of orphaned Disney characters in Anaheim, won the Stanley Cup while yet another Canadian-based team cried "wait until next year." Per-game scoring dropped again and, in what has now become an annual rite, the Toronto Maple Leafs not only failed to win a Stanley Cup, but they failed to even qualify (again) for post-season play. And, oh yeah, the NHL twice slammed the door on a pair of bids by one of the richest men in Canada, Jim Balsillie, and his attempts to bring a team to Canada.
But enough of the people and events that made some hockey players and teams rival the bad girls of Hollywood in terms of going wild. This is a column about the future and it starts today with the so-called Winter Classic in Buffalo.
Now winter in Buffalo is nothing new and when it comes to the classics, well, the Sabres are on par with the Leafs in regards winning Stanley Cup championships (none in the years since the franchise was founded in 1970). Still, hosting an outdoor hockey game in a bad-weather market in a football stadium named for the man whose heirs may well sell the franchise to Toronto interests certainly starts the new year off with a buzz.
This is the second such "outing" in recent NHL history and while it doesn’t have the cachet of the "Heritage Classic" in Edmonton (anytime you get Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and the "classic" Oilers on the ice you’ve got something special) it does seem to be reverberating in the U.S. If it’s a success it will spawn imitation and there is already talk of New York, Boston, Chicago and other cities. That’s what the NHL will most enjoy regards the effort in Buffalo. People are talking about hockey and hockey in their town. You can’t buy that kind of publicity for hockey in the States.
Ice Bowl aside, the new year does hold other elements of promise.
For one, the all-star game will go to the Deep South. Now it’s not as deep as when the game when to the "no-there" there region of South Florida which couldn’t even claim being in a city let alone an area of hockey interest.
There’s some question as to how much interest there will be in Atlanta as well, but it least it’s a city and a place that knows how to roll out the carpet for a big event (they did host an Olympic Games) and that’s a good thing. Hockey may never be on par with the major U.S. sports in America’s southlands, but Atlanta does have a following that may grow as the team improves and there’s at least evidence that fans and the community will embrace the game for what it is, an event for hockey and a chance for a city to show its stuff.
Another thing worth paying attention to in 2008 is the rise of the Chicago Blackhawks as a competitive team.
If you’ve only come to a passing interest in the NHL in the last two decades or so, you probably don’t know that the ‘Hawks were once a premier franchise in the NHL. It remains to be seen how far they will go this season what with two kids, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, leading the way. But at least the team has found a pulse in what was once one of hockey’s greatest markets and with the Bruins, Canadiens and Rangers finally putting up wins and the Detroit Red Wings still setting the standard for excellence, teams of the Original Six cities are moving forward again. Heck, there may well be hope for the Leafs sometime in the coming decades.
Some other things worth watching as the league goes boldly toward rekindling a romance with ESPN...
The scoring race: This may shock those of you who have been watching NFL football all season, but Sidney Crosby is not a lock for the scoring title. Tampa’s Vinny Lecavalier has a spot in this field as does Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk, Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, Ottawa’s Dany Heatley and perhaps even Daniel Alfredsson, or a trio of Detroit Red Wings. My bet is on Iginla, but even if he doesn’t win that crown he should be the odds-on favorite to win the Hart Trophy as he’s the most complete player playing the most complete game in the NHL today.
Who Dat in Goal: It’s interesting that Chris Osgood is "the man" in Detroit at this point of the season but will Dominik Hasek make a challenge when the playoffs are at hand or have we seen the end of one of the greatest goalies the game has ever known come June?
And while we’re on the subject, just who is the "money" goalie in the NHL this season? Is it one of the emerging stars like Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo, Columbus’ Pascal Leclaire, San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov, New York’s Henrik Lundqvist, Ottawa’s comeback candidate Martin Gerber, Boston’s system specialist Tim Thomas or one of the tried and true represented by Osgood, New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur or Anaheim’s J.S. Giguere. The results in 2008 should tell the tale.
Of course there’s always room for a firing or two and candidates abound. Marc Crawford in Los Angeles could be a casualty of his team’s play and an unnecessary distraction should the Steve Moore case ever go to trial. Paul Maurice could get the bounce in Toronto, especially if general manger John Ferguson is booted. It would be a move designed to clear the way for a new regime, something that seems inevitable should the Leafs miss the playoffs again.
That’s the thing about a new year. Even if it comes in midseason it brings lots of hope and lots of promise, but there’s a reality to be dealt with as well. It all starts today in, of all places, Buffalo, N.Y.
Have a good one.