A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and satirical, and rolling four lines deep.
1. There is power in playing for the team you grew up rooting for. Credit Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis for adding Greater Toronto Area natives like David Clarkson, Dave Bolland and now emergency centre Peter Holland to the club of their boyhood fantasies.
“I do have some Leafs jerseys and Leafs flags still in my room,” Holland said after his first game in a Leafs sweater. The forward was drafted in the first round to the Anaheim Ducks four years ago, but his bedroom remained loyal to Toronto. “I think I have a replica Stanley Cup from the Leafs’ last win. I haven’t redecorated yet, but maybe I don’t have to now.”
In minor hockey and with the OHL’s Guelph Storm, Holland wore No. 13 — the same number of the Mats Sundin sweater he got as a kid and has never parted with. Holland fondly remembers attending the Leafs final home opener at Maple Leaf Gardens, against the Detroit Red Wings, with his uncle and his father, and seeing the 2004 Leafs eliminate the Ottawa Senators from the playoffs in a critical Game 7.
Holland had to scramble to get to the Air Canada Centre on the day of the trade, and a pair of friends waiting for him outside the dressing room area scrambled to secure tickets and stitch up HOLLAND jerseys just hours before puck drop.
“There’s a lot of emotion in your first game after being traded. He’s dealing with traveling on (game) day and playing where he’s from. I thought he was really good for us,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said. “The thing that sticks out is how patient he was with the puck. A few times in the first period, he turned back. And for younger guys in the centre position, that shows they got lots of confidence in their ability to hold the puck. And the more you hold the puck, the better for your team.”
2. You would think the progression for a young defenceman like 23-year-old Michael Del Zotto would have continued this season. But such is not the case. The talented Ontario native was one of former coach John Tortorella’s favourites last season as a 22-year-old, logging an average ice time of 23:10, but has failed to impress Alain Vigneault this season. Not only has Del Zotto’s ice time dropped to 18:27, the 2008 first-round pick was a healthy scratch all weekend and has been the subject of trade rumours. Playing in just 16 of the Rangers’ 20 games this year, Del Zotto has scored four points and is a minus-4. AV needs to see more from the defenceman’s game.
“I’m not happy,” Del Zotto told reporters, when he was informed of his healthy-scratch status Friday. “Obviously you’re never happy when you’re out of the lineup, but it’s the coach’s decision, and like I’ve said all along, I’m going to come to the rink with a smile on my face. I’m happy to be here and will try to work hard each day and try to get better.”
A message has been megaphoned into Del Zotto’s ear. Let’s see how he responds.
3. A beard wins Movember. Great Eight, indeed:
Gr8 pic!!!!so sick!! pic.twitter.com/Zex4l81sZG
— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) November 12, 2013
4. The underwhelming Columbus Blue Jackets rank just 23rd in scoring, and now top offensive threat Marian Gaborik has been sidelined three to four weeks with a knee sprain. Meanwhile, the team’s leading scorer from 2012-13, Vinny Prospal, remains an unrestricted free agent. He’s not fast, but the 38-year-old veteran Prospal could still be of value in the NHL. He scored 30 points in 48 games last year and is training in his native Czech Republic.
5. Ryan Suter is earning his money in Minnesota. The Wisconsin native’s average of 29:36 played per game leads all NHLers in ice time by more than two full minutes (Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson is second with 27:11). Last week he logged three games in which he played more than 35 minutes. In one three-game stretch, Suter skated for 108:19 — the most over any three-game span since time on ice began being tracked in 2000-01, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
When you consider that Suter will likely be anchoring Team USA’s blue line in Sochi and that the Wild will lean on him even more in the NHL postseason (he played a whopping 41:08 in Minnesota’s 2013 playoff opener), we could be witnessing a man play more hockey in one season than ever before. (Fun fact: Suter’s goal total: 0.)
6. How much does captain Mark Giordano mean to the Calgary Flames? Since he broke his ankle, the Flames have won two and have lost 10, including six straight. You don’t see this kind of drop-off in Pittsburgh when Sidney Crosby gets injured.
7. How deep is the goaltending in Anaheim? Frederick Andersen was sent back down to the American Hockey League after posting a 6-1-0 record in relief of the injured Viktor Fasth. If I’m New York Islanders GM Garth Snow, who saw his goaltender Evgeni Nabokov pull his groin Saturday, I’m placing a call.
8. Witnessed a very cool moment at the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony Monday, and we’re not talking about Borje Salming going to town on the sushi station.
Vladislav Tretiak strolled into the Hall’s Montreal Canadiens dressing room exhibit, walking directly to Ken Dryden’s stall to have his picture snapped. Then walked right out.
9. Love that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ran into Ray Emery and asked him directly about a possible rule change: “So just hypothetically, if there was a rule that said if you cross the red line to get into a fight with the other goaltender and you get a 10-game suspension, would you have done it?” Bettman asked the Flyers netminder.
Emery’s response: “What? Are you crazy?”
Sounds like a no-brainer.
10. Keeping the goalie theme running, the two fellows who backed up Ontario’s NHL teams at the beginning of 2012-13, are absolutely loving their sunny new homes.
Former Senator Ben Bishop and his league-leading 13 wins are simultaneously making Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman look like a genius and making a bid to be included in USA’s Olympic roster.
Former Maple Leaf Ben Scrivens has slid nicely into Jonathan Bernier’s old role in L.A. Scrivens has a league-best three shutouts, including consecutive donuts in relief of the injured Jonathan Quick.
11. How bored was the red-hot Kari Lehtonen during the Dallas Stars’ rout of the Flames? He sat on top of the net:
12. During the Sharks-Flames game Tuesday, San Jose’s Justin Braun was whistled for interference as Calgary’s Matt Stajan fell in front of the Sharks net. Replays showed that Braun did not interfere with Stajan; rather, Stajan ran into Sharks goalie Alex Stalock’s skates and tumbled. Regardless, Calgary scored on the power play.
After the game, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said this: “If I had a red flag, I would have thrown it as far as I could. I think that’s a good case for that type of situation. I’m sure everybody had a chance to watch it again and I think the official knows that he erred on it.”
We’re in favour of the strategy and drama an NFL-style challenge flag would bring to the NHL. It’s a nice new wrinkle that would take advantage of the technology available and eliminate some of the post-game grumbling about the refs. But let’s limit it to one challenge per bench per game.