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Will David Perronâ??s concussion cost him another Bluesâ?? season?Chronicles of Stanley: Tyler Seguin and the goblet of vodkaAnother Little issue with Winnipeg Jets history resolvedHockey Guilty Pleasures: Paul Kukla of Kuklaâ??s KornerBourne Blog: The summer I fell out of love with hockeyPuck Headlines: New Senators jerseys; Doughty contract debateShea Weberâ??s rare, foreboding arbitration hearing with NashvilleAfter voter rejection, Islanders to Brooklyn noise pollutionCraig MacTavish on the coaching jobs he didnâ??t getSean Avery, Alex Frolov and racial slurs lost in translation
Will David Perronâ??s concussion cost him another Bluesâ?? season?Chronicles of Stanley: Tyler Seguin and the goblet of vodkaAnother Little issue with Winnipeg Jets history resolvedHockey Guilty Pleasures: Paul Kukla of Kuklaâ??s KornerBourne Blog: The summer I fell out of love with hockeyPuck Headlines: New Senators jerseys; Doughty contract debateShea Weberâ??s rare, foreboding arbitration hearing with NashvilleAfter voter rejection, Islanders to Brooklyn noise pollutionCraig MacTavish on the coaching jobs he didnâ??t getSean Avery, Alex Frolov and racial slurs lost in translation
The current poster boy for the NHL's concussion concerns has to be Sidney Crosby of the [Pittsburgh]e|penguins Penguins, whose absence last season (and postseason) sparked pundit vitriol about hits to the head and arguably served as the catalyst for further rules changes by the NHL to that end.
But for me, David Perron personifies the concussion issue.
The [St. Louis]e|blues Blues forward last played on Nov. 4, suffering a concussion on a blindside hit from Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks that eventually cost Thornton two games under the NHL's still-new Rule 48 .
Perron's concussion is perhaps the greatest reminder of what we don't know about brain injuries: Please recall he actually returned to the game and scored a goal 10 minutes later in the Blues' 2-0 win; and his symptoms didn't manifest during the supplemental discipline process with Thornton, leading to some debate about the suspension's validity. (A debate that may seem stunning in light of the injury's level of devastation, but speaks to the muddiness of the 'suspend-to-the-injury' mindset.)
And then he didn't play another game with the Blues.
In fact, he hasn't done much of anything hockey-related for months, with Blues GM Doug Armstrong telling the [St. Louis]e|OOD Post-Dispatch this week that Perron hasn't "lifted weight yet or trained since the injury."
With NHL training camps weeks away, the Blues, Perron, his agent and doctors have come to a heart-wrenching conclusion for the 23-year-old standout: That he won't be ready for the start of the 2011-12 season, and that his return to the Blues is still in question.
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The Chronicles of Stanley is an occasional series this summer that tracks theÂ [Boston]e|bruins Bruins as they each get their special alone time with the Stanley Cup.
At this point, we may all be experiencing some understandable jealousy of [Boston]e|bruins Bruins center Tyler Seguin. He's 19. He's rather wealthy. He's a professional hockey player who won a championship, got his own segment on the championship DVD based on two games in the conference finals, and danced half-nekkid while sipping $100,000 champagne.
And now, even though he doesn't need the help, dude gets to take the Stanley Cup to the club, which is like arriving at your high school reunion in a Gulfstream G650. To the victor goes the Grey Goose.
Coming up, more Seguin fun, as well as a glimpse at Stanley's visit with Marc Savard, Adam Creighton and Chris Kelly.
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When the [Atlanta]e|thrashers Thrashers were rechristened as the Winnipeg Jets, there were going to be a series of peculiar decisions about the Jets legacy that's currently recognized by the Phoenix Coyotes as a part of their own franchise history.
Winger Evander Kane (notes) was the first to deal with that Jets legacy, saying he would ask Bobby Hull for his blessing to wear No. 9 on a Jets sweater, as it was retired by Winnipeg in 1989.
Center Bryan Little (notes) also wears a retired Jets number: No. 10, which was made famous by Dale Hawerchuk during his Hall of Fame career and retired by the Coyotes in 2007.
Rather than seeking blessings or sharing legacies, Little told the Winnipeg Free Press that he'll honor Hawerchuk by choosing another digit:
So there you go.
The more these legacies are entangled, the more we're looking forward to the eventual question about the record book. Will players set franchise records? "Jets" records? Winnipeg records?
(Ed. Note: Our series "Puck Daddy's Guilty Pleasures" features puckheads from all walks of life answering questions about their own hockey-related guilty pleasures. It will run daily during the month of August. Have a suggestion for a "Guilty Pleasures" guest blogger? Hit us on email . Enjoy!)
Today's special guest: Paul Kukla of the venerable Kukla's Korner , the godfather of hockey bloggers and your daily news source.
1. The Player You Most Love To Hate
Martin Erat, for this play in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nashville was one stupid, blind pass away from going home up 3-1 against the Blackhawks. Every time I hear his name, I just shake my head.
Can you imagine the hate that would still be flowing if Erat played for a team in crazy hockey city?
2. Other Than Your Own, The Team You Can't Help Rooting For
Montreal without a doubt. I still dream of a [Detroit]e|redwings /Montreal Stanley Cup Final, taking the train between Windsor and Montreal and living like it was back in the 1950's. I even have a fedora picked out.
Hopefully this is the season, especially with the talk of the Wings moving to the Eastern Conference. I'd even wear a suit to every game!
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In the summer of 2008, I was at the make-or-break-it crossroads of my hockey career. I was 25 and coming off a pretty good season between the ECHL and AHL.
Problem for me was, 25 going on 26 isn't exactly youthful for an undrafted player trying to claw his way out of the minors, and each year there was going to be more and more young bucks who were drafted and on the rise. It's also likely that many of them would be much, much better than me.
I basically had to have one hell of a good summer of workouts, report to camp, wherever that may be (ended up being Hershey), and be better than I'd ever been if I hoped to play in the AHL. Otherwise the option would be to head off to Europe for "the experience," the money, and the chance to delay the inevitable "guess I should get a real job" moment that would be coming shortly after.
(Whether you start trying to climb the ranks at another job at 26 or 36, you're still starting from scratch, so the "why am I still playing?" doubt start to creep in for players in the minors around that age.)
That summer I entirely fell out of love with hockey, a game I loved so much for so long.
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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
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â?˘ Chris from Icethetics gives us the first glimpse of the University of Oregon's new hockey sweat … oh, wait, it's actually the Ottawa Senators' Heritage jerseys for the 2011-2012 season, which is their 20th anniversary. Replace the gray with red, and you get the idea. How nice of Ottawa to provide opposing players with a nice chest-sized target to aim for when the Senators drop to block shots. We also eagerly await the first Ottawa player to make their "oh face" while wearing their "O jersey." As always, our money's on Chris Neil. [ Icethetics ]
â?˘ Nice piece by Ken Campbell on Mika Zibanejad, the Sens' first-round pick, and his father Mehrdad Zibanejad, who was forced into serving in Ayatollah Khomeini's army and was once jailed for writing a magazine article on existentialism. [ THN ]
â?˘ Drew Doughty's people are no doubt keeping a close watch on the Shea Weber arbitration. [ Kings Insider ]
â?˘ Crowned Royal on Doughty's contract, and how the Kings might meet the presumed conditions the young defenseman is seeking. [ Crowned Royal ]
â?˘ Speaking of the [Los Angeles]e|kings Kings, a devastating post about defenseman Jack Johnson, the "buck-toothed pylon" who the stats show is a liability on the blue line. [ Battle of California]
â?˘ Interesting piece comparing the NBA lockout with the NHL work stoppage that robbed us of a season. Basically: Be careful what you wish for. [ NBA.com ]
â?˘ As Colin White and Trent Hunter clear waivers for the New Jersey Devils, what their buyouts will cost the team. [ Fire & Ice ]
â?˘ Doug Wilson on the San Jose Sharks signing Brent Burns to a five-year deal: "Supply and demand dictates that defensemen always are going to get their money and terms. But we know this is a guy who loves to play the game, wants to compete and wants to win. We thought we would be a good fit for him. From Day One, signing him was our ultimate goal. And for him to agree to this kind of contract, I can't compliment Brent enough for him stepping up and being a great teammate." [ Working The Corners ]
â?˘ Alex Ovechkin rocks the Michael Jordan T-shirt. Reebok must be thrilled. [ Alex Ovetjkin ]
â?˘ The top 10 Hockey Hall of Fame omissions. Pierre Turgeon more egregious than Pavel Bure? For realz? [ Senshot ]
â?˘ As some of you have noted on Twitter and email, The Score has been apparently dropped by Sirius. What this means for Puck Daddy Radio next season, we've got no idea yet, but we'll keep you updated. As you may have heard, these are exciting times for Yahoo! and radio . Heck, we're takin' on ESPN! [ The Paranoid Puck ]
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(And the No. 1 reason to get nominated for an NHL Award? Nameplate valets, apparently.)
Dozens of NHL players have gone to arbitration, but Shea Weber has gone where no player has gone before, according to his agent Jarrett Bousquet. He tweeted that Tuesday's faceoff between the Nashville Predators and their Norris-nominated defenseman was the first time in NHL history a "team elected arbitration" has gone to hearing.
In recent history, we've had Zach Parise and the New Jersey Devils settling on a one-year deal before club-elected arbitration; Patrick Kaleta and the [Buffalo]e|sabres Sabres avoiding a hearing with a two-year deal last summer; and Marc-Andre Fleury and the [Pittsburgh]e|penguins Penguins avoiding one with a seven-year deal in 2008.
The Penguins elected for arbitration with Fleury to protect him from an offer sheet while they negotiated what seemed like a formality. The Predators did the same with Weber, and the vibe was generally the same: Keep the vultures away while the sides worked towards a long-term deal to keep Weber with the Predators.
The odds that Weber and the Preds would actually have a hearing seemed long, to the point where an all-night "Weber Watch" on Twitter optimistically anticipated a new contract announcement.
Yet there they were in [Toronto]e|place on Tuesday morning, with Weber's side arguing for a large salary and the Predators presumably coming up with some kind of critique of Weber's game to bring it down. ("Ryan Suter made him!" "He can't break through steel with his shot!" "There were bugs in his beard by Round 2 of the playoffs!")
Even before an award's been given in the case, has the damage been done?
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The [New York]e|islanders Islanders have a lease agreement with the Nassau Coliseum through 2015. Following Monday night's rejection by voters to use $400 million in public funds to construct a new stadium complex, where they go after that is anyone's guess.
Which brings us to Brooklyn.
As Chris Botta wrote last night on NYI Point Blank, owner Charles Wang has spent the last 11 years avoiding heavy flirtation with other municipalities, but it's probably about time to begin sending some secret admirer notes. That doesn't necessarily mean negotiating with other markets in preparation of 2015 â?? if the Islanders can't remain in Uniondale, they could still remain in [New York]e|place .
Brooklyn's going to be chief among those options because of Barclays Center, where the New Jersey Nets are scheduled to relocate , and because of the undeniable nostalgic enthusiasm whenever the topic of a sports team arriving in Brooklyn comes up, each one a small Band-Aid on the still-gaping wound left by the Dodgers.
Plus, there's mass transit. As in the kind that doesn't require a bus or cab ride after getting off the train.
So already there's Brooklyn Islanders chatter after Monday's vote. Question is whether it's even a conversation worth having.
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In Hollywood, the "what if" game about movie casting is one of our favorite pastimes. What if Sean Connery had played Gandalf? What if Christopher Walken had played Han Solo? What if Will Smith had played Neo instead of making "Wild, Wild West"?
Of course, in Hollywood it's the actor passing on a role; in the NHL, it's the general manager passing on a coach. But it's always interesting to hear about who was or was not up for a particular job, and former Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish commented on his recent interviews after being named the new head coach of the AHL [Chicago]e|wolves Wolves.
From Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal:
These names have been out there in some form this summer: MacTavish was a finalist for the Wild and for the Jets , although his formal connection with the Senators was less established.
Another one of our favorite pastimes: Reading between the lines.
MacTavish coached the Oilers for eight seasons. He coached in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. He had a record of 301-252-56 with 47 ties. He's been making television money for the last year. When he says "everybody is under a lot of pressure in a lot of different areas" and the teams he interviewed with opted for what was undoubtedly cheaper labor, one wonders if MacTavish may have Vokoun'd himself in negotiations. In any event, he's an AHL coach now making AHL money, talking about his passion to just get behind the bench again and work with players.
Two of the jobs he lost out on were the result of previous relationships â?? Yeo with GM Chuck Fletcher, Noel with Jets ownership. So in the end, it's sometimes just about who you know. Which is probably why MacTavish was hired by his former agent.
Along with being a damn good coach, of course. Wonder if the teams that passed on him will feel like they hired Tom Selleck to play Indiana Jones after a few years ...
Sean Avery's transformation into the poster boy for cultural tolerance was jarring to some fans with long memories, because it was a scant six years ago that Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers accused him of deplorable intolerance.
Laraque said that the then-[Los Angeles]e|kings Kings agitator called him "a monkey," a claim which Avery dismissed as a fabrication . This followed another informal audition for a United Nations ambassadorship by Avery in which he called Denis Gauthier's check that concussed Jeremy Roenick in the preseason "typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on." (Still wonder how Luc Robitaille felt about that one.)
Alex Frolov was Avery's teammate in [Los Angeles]e|kings from 2003-07 and then again with the [New York]e|rangers Rangers last season. Since there's a global obsession with Avery's unique skills set, Frolov was asked by Sport.ru in Russia about why he's so reviled. The following is a translated quote by Slava Malamud of Sport-Express :
Predictably, this quote was covered from the mainstream to the blogs , with Jesse Spector writing on the NY Daily News Blueshirts Blog: "It's stunning, appalling and particularly noteworthy given that Avery's offseason has been most notable for his outspoken support of marriage equality."
As Spector later found out, Frolov denies ever making the accusation about Avery. But even if he did, the bigger point about Avery was lost in translation.
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