Jim Kelley

Jim Kelley writes regularly on the NHL for Sportsnet.ca and can be heard on Primetime Sports on the FAN590.

Jim Kelley answers 10 questions covering the NHL, of the true, false or darned if I know variety.

Okay kids, in the interest of improving test scores over imparting any real knowledge (anyone with a kid in school or a kid who is in school will know what I’m talking about) it’s time for the old 10 easy questions quiz sheet. Mark your answers true, false, or darned if I know and then we’ll give you the correct answer using reason, logic and rationality instead of emotion, stupidity and lunacy.

Question No. 1: Toronto captain Mats Sundin is a no-good so-and-so for refusing to waive his no-trade agreement and leave the team thereby making it better.

Answer No. 1: False. Exactly what was Sundin supposed to do, announce he wants to run out on his teammates after he had given his word and signed a contract saying he would stay on for the duration? Use your heads kids. Sundin is one of those rare athletes who means what he says and says what he means. Yes, he could have helped interim GM Cliff Fletcher look good by going back on his signed word, but exactly what did he owe the Leafs other than what he’s given them, a full season of every-night effort win, lose or (management) cry.

Question No. 2: You can win a Stanley Cup with this kind of playoff record: Missed playoffs, lost in the first round, lost in the second round, lost in the first round, lost in the second round, lost in the first round, lost in the second round, lost in the first round, fired, lost in the first round, lost in the second round, lost in the first round, missed playoffs, missed playoffs, missed playoffs, lost in the second round, lost in the finals. Hint: it’s not John Paddock.

Answer No. 2: Darned if I know. I do know that that’s Bryan Murray’s playoff record and hey, ask owner Eugene Melnyk why John Muckler is at home with his five Stanley Cup rings and Murray is the man charged with saving the Senators. Look, not every failure with Washington, Detroit, Florida, Anaheim and Ottawa was Murray’s fault, but he’s had six teams with more than 100 points in a season and except for last spring’s edition of the Senators, none of them got beyond the second round. Including his best team ever, the 2005-06 Sens who finished with 113 points and lost in the second round. You can look it up.

Question No. 3: Is there an organization more pitiful and petty than Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, particularly in light of the fact they’ve erased any evidence that former assistant general manager and current broadcaster Bill Watters exists from the Air Canada Centre and assorted properties.

Answer No.3: Darned if I know again. I always thought the Buffalo Sabres held this honour under two-time boss Larry Quinn given the way he ran off Pat LaFontaine and Ted Nolan in his first go-round and a string of players in his second, but the multi-headed monster at MLSE may give Quinn a run for the top on this one. Media people, especially critics, are paid to give unfettered opinion. Watters has crossed the line at times, making personal comments about Larry Tannenbaum and Richard Peddie and he’s dealt with that by making the necessary and deserved apologies. Personal comments are out of line. But as for criticizing management of the Leafs, well one need only look at the record to make the argument that says Watters hasn’t been bold enough. With the record these people have their names should be absent at MLSE, not Watters’.

Question No. 4: Players have the upper hand on management when they agree to no-trade or no-movement contracts.

Answer No. 4: False. Management and a great many in the media who drink the Kool-Aid of team blather about "doing the right thing" don’t get this, but the right thing was honouring the terms of the agreement which is an agreement whereby management surrenders its right to trade a player and usually gets something from the player in return. It’s called a contract and most of the world lives by it. To think that the NHL deserves an exemption is like believing Roger Clemens never cheated on his test either.

Question No. 5: Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo was less of a "team player" by making some remarks that could be construed as critical of teammates that have deserted him at key points in recent games.

Answer No. 5: False. What, the Canucks are so mentally soft they can’t take a little well-deserved criticism? And don’t give me that stuff about "staying in the room." That’s where too many of the Canucks have been leaving their game of late. If the Canucks had any stones they would stand up and not only say Luongo was right, but that they intend to do something about it, like play harder when the game is on the line. There’s a reason this pudding soft team is in danger of falling out of the playoff race despite having arguably the best goalie in the game.

Side memo to Canucks: take a look at what Iron Mike Keenan is doing in Calgary and ask yourself if you are as mentally tough as you need to be.

Question No. 6: The Leafs can’t possibly make the playoffs this season.

Answer No. 6: True. Okay, not exactly factually true because there is a mathematical possibility. But in this era of three-point games (two for a win and one for not winning), it’s all but impossible to make up a six-point gap over 16 games. Unfortunately, the same holds true for the Edmonton Oilers, a team that may well deserve a better fate.

Question No. 7: By percentage prior to Monday night’s games, which NHL Team has the best road record against Canadian teams since the start of the 2005-06 season? Is it the suddenly high flying Montreal Canadiens, the struggling Vancouver Canucks, the Nashville Predators, the or the once formidable Ottawa Senators?

Answer No. 7: OKay, clearly this is one of those which-one-doesn’t-belong questions because it’s Nashville, 11-5-1 with a .667 percentage over that time. The Canucks are fourth with a .620 percentage on a 14-8-3 record behind Dallas (.643) and Pittsburgh (same percentage, fewer games). After Pittsburgh comes Ottawa (.583). The Canadiens are a surprising fourth from the bottom with a .340 on a 7-15-3 record, ahead of only Tampa, Atlanta and the New York Islanders. For the record, the Calgary Flames are 11th at .521 and the Toronto Maple Leafs are in 22nd place with a ratings grabbing .422, one spot ahead of the Edmonton Oilers at .400.

Question No. 8: Given his three-goal performance vs. the Boston Bruins Monday night, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin became the first (and will perhaps be the only) 50-goal scorer in the NHL this season. Who leads the league in assists and who leads the league in rookie assists? Hint: they were all on the ice in Washington Monday night.

Answer No. 8: Darned if you know, but I can tell you the assist leader is Boston’s Marc Savard (60) and the rookie assist leader is Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom (46).

Question No. 9: Can you win coach of the year honours without making the playoffs?

Answer No. 9: Darned if I know, but Wayne Gretzky is making a run at it. No. 99’s team is 10th in the West with 16 games remaining and has a tougher row to hoe than even the Maple Leafs. But hey, he’s the Great One and even if he misses, he could garner votes from broadcasters who are the king makers in this category.

Question No. 10: The NHL does not have a rule against hitting from behind?

Answer No. 10: False, but it’s enforced about as often as the no-traveling rule in the NBA. Why do you think Bryan Murray kept yelling "that’s bull--------" Monday night? Did you think he was arguing that John Paddock would have kept his job if he had just handled Ray Emery a little bit better?