where’s that confounded bridge? the committed indian
TRANSCRIPT
We are doing are very best to be the last ones to hit the panic button. After all, you should feel better after reading this. So we’re not hitting it yet. But we’re definitely taking stock of where it is, calculating how long it will take, figuring out the best route to it, and stretching to make sure we don’t pull a triceps or an oblique when we decide that it’s time. What was so disheartening about Friday is, there’s so few things to complain about. The Hawks outworked the Oilers by a wide margin. They showed incredible heart by tying the game 4 times! Havlat reverted to mutant-form. Seabrook was a wrecking ball. Hjalmarsson was better than he was on Wednesday, and Barker was in fine form as well. Even Brian Campbell, wading through boos everytime he touched the puck, had a good game. But this month, every mistake, every bounce, every break has ended up in the Hawks’ net. What’s one mistake they’re mak-ing? HAVING MATT WALKER IN THE FUCKING BUILDING! A couple months ago, we lauded Walker’s play. But we did that in the context that this was a #6 defenseman who was play-ing above his head, and the Hawks were on the House’s money with him. Well, the thing about #6 d-men is that they occasionally will play like a #7, or a #8, or a #43 d-man. When that happens, they have to be removed. Ed-monton’s second goal on Friday wouldn’t have happened if Walker hadn’t stupidly pinched down with Keith already deep in the offensive zone leaving Kris Versteeg stranded, with-out even a volleyball to keep him company. Edmonton’s fourth goal wouldn’t have hap-pened if Walker wasn’t loitering-with-intent-of-idiocy by the faceoff dot while Gagner was streaking up the middle. Hopefully, Walker’s benching in the 3rd period on Friday is a por-tent of things to come.All In All, We Need More Bricks In The Wall With all that being said, the fact that these mistakes and bounces end up in goals-against means the callous eye of blame can only gaze at the visages of Mssrs. Huet and Khabibulin (my, wasn’t that fucking poetic?). The Hawks simply have not gotten any big saves this month when they needed them. To boot, both goalies have let in soft goals. Sure, both of them have made big saves, but not when the Hawks had tied the game, or were leading. Thus, these saves weren’t preserv-ing momentum, merely putting the Hawks on more pins and needles. When the Hawks have taken leads or battled back and are rolling,
the opponents are denting twine soon after, and the Hawks have to build from scratch. At one point Friday, the Oilers has 4 goals on 16 shots. That’s simply unacceptable. The Hawks have been defensively curious lately, but not significantly more than they were early in the year. But no one noticed then, because both Huet and Khabby were bailing them out. This team was definitely built with strong goaltending as the foundation; both Huet and Khabby were Top-10 in SV% and GAA until recently. But now that rug has been pulled out from under the Hawks, and they won’t turn it around until Khabby, or Huet, once again provide the top-tier goaltending that the Hawks obviously require. Still, if the Hawks show as much determination and spirit as they have the past two games, they will get out of this, and soon.Weren’t You Just Here? We thought Edmonton was the perfect opponent to break the slide (and we were partially right. The Hawks were superior in a lot of areas, except the one that counts). Unfortunately, today’s opponent -- the Kings -- are ones we’d least like to see. Not only have the Hawks struggled with them for two seasons now, but here’s a team that is going to do all the things the Hawks hate. Clog the neutral zone, work their asses off, keep the game on the boards, finish their checks, and quick forwards to harass our increasingly-jittery d-men. This will be the third game in four
days for L.A. On Thursday, they came from two down with 10 minutes left to win in OT in Boston. Friday night, they got pecker-slapped by the resurgent Penguins. For a brief period in February, the Kings were, shockingly, putting themselve right in the middle of the playoff-chase-gangbang. However, taking only three of the last 10 points, and 7 of the last 24, has left them seven points adrift of the 8th seed, and there won’t be any post-season hockey in Southern California this year. Unfortunately, having not much to play for doesn’t mean the Kings are going to just make up the numbers today. Coach Terry Murray always gets a max effort from his troops. The Kings also boast perhaps the most promising blueline anywhere, with Drew Doughty, Kyle Quincy, and Jack Johnson all appearing to have very bright futures ahead of them. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and especially Alex Frolov have been about as pleasant for the Hawks to deal with as herpes. It’s our forecast that next season, people will talk about L.A. they way people talked about the Hawks earlier in the year. We’re all twitchy. It has not been a pretty three weeks. It could get very ugly next week. The Hawks need a win today more than they’ve needed a win all season. They’re going to have to play one of their best games to get it. The Kings are more than capable of exploiting a mistake or a shaky goalie. If the Hawks do not come up with two points today, like most men, we’re going to go searching for that red button (naughty boys...).-Ozzy
Where’s That Confounded Bridge?
[email protected] 22nd, 2009
The Committed Indian
The REal Fan’s Program
GEORGE IS GETTING VERY NERVOUS
$3
secondcityhockey.com
$3
Barry Rozner picks the subject for that day’s column
As you all probably know by now, I’m not very grown-up. That would have to be the case for me to start a publication like this. There have been very few moments when I’ve looked like anything resembling an adult. As I come to to the business-end of my first season in this post, I find myself regressing. Sports have always been far too big a priority in my life (the Cubs are certainly the reason I’m terrified of committment). Going to watch a soccer game at a bar cost me a transfer of colleges once. I skipped a test in high school, causing me to flunk that class, because Kerry Wood was pitching against Tom Glavine in ‘98. I didn’t leave the house for three days when Jer-emy Roenick was traded (though that might have something to do with having nowhere to go). These days, as I have more than an emotional investment in the Hawks, I’ve become even more petulant. I nearly picked a fight with a middle-aged Penguin fan after Malkin had bur-ied the overtime winner. I honestly thought about climbing over a couple of rows to get after a particularly obnoxious Scum fan during the Winter Classic (imagine how obnoxious that must be!). Friday may have taken the cake, though. I found Friday’s loss truly draining. The Hawks truly left it all on the ice. Every skater, aside from Matt Walker, was above
criticism. Here was a bunch let down by some bad goaltending, one clueless defender, and some ridiculously bad bounces. Yet, they kept plugging away. I just felt awful for them. Heading out, I saw a group of Oilers fans celebrating in the concourse. There cannot be a more inoffensive bunch than Oilers fans. They seem a pleasant, happy, polite, well-informed bunch
who are probably just cold ALL THE TIME. And yet the thought of physical violence still crossed my mind. I’m regressing, people. Mind you, I’ve never carried out any of these violent thoughts. Maybe that’s what seper-ates me from the true mouth-breathers. I guess I should be appreciative of the face that I am un-able to grow up. It’s way more fun this way, and I don’t have to move to some ridiculous place like Cleveland to satisfy a bitchy wife. And you lot win out too, because I do this thing, and you seem to like it. So if you ever see my attempting to mature, hand me a beer, hit me on the head, whatever you think it takes. But still, keep me
from taking these losses too hard. There’s a balance to be found.
-WGN has been running an ad for today’s game that reads as fol-lows: “Sunday: the Hawks try and keep the Kings from getting on the throne.” That seems awfully rude. In the words of Tommy Chong, it’s not cool to supress bodily functions, man.
FROM THE EDITOR
Sam Fels
NHL STANDINGS
W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY
1 Boston 45 17 10 100 239 170 24-6-6 21-11-4 2 New Jersey 47 21 3 97 222 173 26-10-1 21-11-2 3 Washington 45 23 6 96 238 216 26-9-2 19-14-4 4 Philadelphia 38 22 10 86 226 203 21-10-4 17-12-6 5 Pittsburgh 39 26 8 86 232 219 21-12-3 18-14-5 6 Carolina 39 28 7 85 213 210 22-13-1 17-15-6 7 NY Rangers 38 26 8 84 186 196 22-10-4 16-16-4 8 Montreal 36 27 9 81 214 220 21-8-6 15-19-3 9 Florida 35 27 10 80 198 203 19-11-6 16-16-4 10 Buffalo 34 30 8 76 212 208 20-13-3 14-17-5 11 Toronto 30 30 13 73 219 257 13-13-9 17-17-4 12 Ottawa 31 30 10 72 191 206 20-12-6 11-18-4 13 Atlanta 30 37 6 66 223 249 14-19-2 16-18-4 14 Tampa Bay 23 33 16 62 189 240 11-15-11 12-18-5 15 NY Islanders 24 40 8 56 182 234 16-14-5 8-26-3
W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY 1 Scum 48 15 9 105 270 212 26-5-4 22-10-5 2 San Jose 47 14 10 104 230 175 29-3-4 18-11-6 3 Calgary 41 24 6 88 233 218 23-9-4 18-15-2 4 Vancouver* 38 23 9 85 213 191 22-11-4 16-12-5 5 HAWKS 37 22 11 85 229 190 18-8-7 19-14-4 6 Columbus 38 28 6 82 201 200 23-11-2 15-17-4 7 Edmonton 35 27 9 79 207 216 16-12-6 19-15-3 8 Nashville 35 30 7 77 184 199 21-12-3 14-18-4 9 St. Louis 33 30 9 75 199 212 19-13-5 14-17-4 10 Anaheim 34 31 6 74 197 206 17-16-3 17-15-3 11 Minnesota 33 30 8 74 180 178 19-11-6 14-19-2 12 Dallas 33 31 8 74 204 222 19-13-4 14-18-4 13 Los Angeles 30 31 10 70 186 209 16-14-8 14-17-2 14 Phoenix* 29 35 7 65 174 218 18-14-3 11-21-4 15 Colorado 31 39 2 64 188 229 18-17-0 13-22-2
PUCK DROP
Eastern Conference Western Conference
TOP 10 LIST
Top 10 Signs It’s Spring10. We’re down to only wearing four layers9. Barry Rozner doesn’t come to the UC in a snappy turtleneck, instead of not coming in an overcoat.8. Dustin Byfuglien passes on being physical with more of a bounce in his step7. Young man Jonathan Toews’ fancy turns to...killing6. John McDonough walks around UC concourses screaming, “Play ball!”5. The Hawks are disappearing4. Havlat’s beard turns an even more vibrant shade3. More smokers outside between periods2. Committed Indian Editors pass out in alleys instead of bathrooms1. Sean Avery Spring Collection hits department stores
*late game not included
Kyle Calder-LW, LA Kings: Kyle Calder was perhaps the last player to receive the Bill Wirtz Free Agent Treatment. Calder was an honest, if not particularly gifted, player in Chicago. However, he worked and grinded his way to back-to-back 20-goal seasons. After the second of those, Calder came up for arbitra-tion. Kyle made the unholy misstep of actually winning his case, which meant Wirtz promptly demanded he be shown the door. Calder has
been traded twice from Chicago for useful centers. The first time was for Michal Handzus, who only managed eight games before blowing out a knee. Then a year later, he was involved in a three-way deal that landed the Hawks Jason Williams. However, things haven’t gotten any better for Kyle since his stay here. He’s never topped 20 goals again, and the past two years in L.A. hasn’t even managed 10. Strangely, though, he lights up his former team. In 12 career games against the Hawks, Calder has 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists). Hasn’t anyone told him Old Man Wirtz is dead, and he should leave us alone?
Panic Attack 37-22-11
# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
88 R Patrick Kane 5' 10" 187 20 68 24 40 64 -5 40 13 0 3 225 10.7 $3,725,000
24 R The Perfect Beard 6' 2" 217 27 69 22 39 61 21 24 5 0 4 211 10.4 $6,000,000
19 C Captain Marvel 6' 2" 209 20 70 29 31 60 4 49 12 0 6 172 16.9 $2,800,000
32 L VerStud 5' 10" 180 22 67 20 29 49 15 55 5 4 2 117 17.1 $491,667
51 D Brian Campbell 6' 0" 188 29 70 7 39 46 0 20 4 0 1 95 7.4 $7,142,875
36 C Dave Bolland 6' 0" 188 22 70 17 25 42 19 42 1 2 4 99 17.2 $845,833
16 L Andrew Ladd 6' 2" 198 23 70 11 28 39 21 26 0 0 1 167 6.6 $1,550,000
25 D Cam Barker 6' 3" 213 22 57 6 32 38 -7 53 5 0 1 82 7.3 $2,768,587
10 L The Sharp-Shooter 6' 1" 197 27 54 23 15 38 2 39 8 0 4 163 14.1 $3,900,000
2 D Duncan Keith 6' 1" 194 25 66 8 30 38 27 40 2 1 1 146 5.5 $1,475,000
22 R Troy Brouwer 6' 2" 213 23 61 10 16 26 7 50 4 1 0 119 8.4 $675,000
33 R Dustin Byfuglien 6' 3" 247 23 65 12 13 25 2 73 3 0 3 173 6.9 $3,000,000
7 D Brent Seabrook 6' 3" 220 23 70 6 14 20 19 55 2 1 0 111 5.4 $3,500,000
46 C Colin Fraser 6' 1" 188 23 70 5 11 16 2 53 0 0 0 58 8.6 $500,000
26 C Samuel Pahlsson 6' 0" 204 31 54 5 10 15 -18 32 1 0 1 76 6.6 $301,000
55 L Ben Eager 6' 2" 220 24 66 10 4 14 3 139 0 0 0 69 14.5 $568,000
8 D Matt Walker 6' 3" 214 28 58 1 13 14 5 75 0 0 0 78 1.3 $600,000
37 R Adam Burish 6' 1" 189 26 54 6 3 9 3 71 0 0 2 74 8.1 $712,500
23 D Aaron Johnson 6' 1" 211 25 29 3 5 8 18 24 0 0 1 20 15 $600,000
5 D Brent Sopel 6' 1" 211 32 23 1 1 2 -4 8 0 0 1 15 6.7 $2,333,333
4 D Niklas Hjalmarsson 6' 2" 200 21 9 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 5 0 $643,000
6 D Jordan Hendry 6' 1" 194 24 8 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 1 0 $625,000
# Goalie HT WT AGE GPI Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary
39 Nikolai Khabibulin 6' 1" 209 36 32 1852 2.49 17 7 6 1 950 77 ..919 0 2 8 $6,750,000
38 Cristobal Huet 6' 1" 205 33 39 2231 2.5 19 14 4 3 1031 93 0.910 0 0 2 $5,625,000
Totals/Averages 6'1" 207 31.3 2.63 37 22 11 4 29.2/g 184 0.910 0 2 10 $12,375,000
TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $57,283,000
CAP SPACE: $274,000**space also affected by buyouts and injured players
16 years ago, David Stern sent me to ruin the NHL. I have done every-thing I can think of to drive the core
fan away, strip hockey of all that’s great about it, and eliminate any at-tention by the mainstream media...
I am so close to completing the task Stern charged me with....
*injured
Injury ListBrent Sopel- Out (Talent)Patrick Sharp- Questionable (Knee)Cam Barker- Questionable (Lower)Matt Walker- Questionable (Idiocy)Ben Eager-Suspended
Probable LinesLeft Wing Center Right Wing
22 Brouwer 19 Toews 10 Sharp24 Havlat 36 Bolland 88 Kane16 Ladd 26 Pahlsson 32 Versteeg
37 Burish 46 Fraser 33 Byfuglien
Probable Pairings2 Keith 7 Seabrook
51 Campbell 4 Hjalmarsson23 Johnson 25 Barker
Totals/Averages 6’ 1” 202.5 24.4 226 398 14.5/g 66 9 33.3/g 9.6% $44,607,000
Chris Kuc reported yesterday that Sharp will be back this afternoon. He was practicing with Toews and Brouwer, which we think means Kane is with Havlat and Bolland. Kane and Havlat have always made an odd line combo, as both would seem to need the puck. But we’ll wait and see.
It’s only been two games, but we love the way Pahlse never seems to panic on the PK. A few could learn from that.
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# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)
11 C Anze Kopitar "A" 6' 3" 219 21 71 25 36 61 -17 22 7 1 3 204 12.3 $956,000
24 R Alexander Frolov 6' 2" 204 26 71 28 27 55 -7 24 11 1 1 162 17.3 $2,900,000
23 R Dustin Brown "C" 6' 0" 207 24 69 24 29 53 -10 58 7 0 6 272 8.8 $3,175,000
28 C Jarret Stoll 6' 0" 214 26 71 18 23 41 -6 62 10 0 1 151 11.9 $3,600,000
27 D Kyle Quincey 6' 2" 207 23 68 4 34 38 -3 59 2 0 2 144 2.8 $514,000
26 C Michal Handzus 6' 4" 218 31 71 17 21 38 -5 26 7 1 4 126 13.5 $4,000,000
19 L Kyle Calder 5' 11" 177 30 65 8 16 24 -4 35 2 0 1 82 9.8 $2,700,000
8 D Drew Doughty 6' 1" 203 19 70 5 19 24 -12 50 2 0 1 116 4.3 $3,475,000
17 R Wayne Simmonds 6' 2" 181 20 71 6 12 18 -6 62 1 0 1 108 5.6 $822,000
54 R Teddy Purcell 6' 3" 202 23 30 4 11 15 -4 4 2 0 1 49 8.2 $63,900
9 C Oscar Moller 5' 11" 180 20 36 7 8 15 -3 14 5 0 0 72 9.7 $786,000
2 D Matt Greene "A" 6' 4" 234 25 71 1 11 12 -1 109 0 0 0 63 1.6 $1,150,000
6 D Sean O'Donnell 6' 2" 230 37 71 0 11 11 0 63 0 0 0 29 0 $1,250,000
5 D Peter Harrold 5' 11" 188 25 62 3 8 11 -14 26 1 0 0 91 3.3 $583,000
14 R Justin Williams 6' 1" 195 27 33 3 7 10 -10 9 2 0 0 81 3.7 $753,000
7 C Derek Armstrong 6' 0" 197 35 47 4 3 7 -11 51 1 0 1 33 12.1 $1,500,000
3 D Jack Johnson 6' 1" 225 22 30 4 3 7 -19 33 3 0 0 36 11.1 $2,150,000
21 D Denis Gauthier Jr. 6' 2" 220 32 58 2 2 4 -13 74 0 0 0 34 5.9 $1,931,000
15 C Brad Richardson 5' 11" 184 24 26 0 4 4 -5 11 0 0 0 33 0 $588,000
41 L Raitis Ivanans 6' 4" 256 30 65 2 0 2 -8 124 0 0 2 21 9.5 $600,000
44 D Davis Drewiske 6' 1" 210 24 6 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 4 0 $104,000
33 C Kevin Westgarth 6' 4" 241 25 8 0 0 0 1 9 0 0 0 1 0 $206,000
13 R John Zeiler 6' 0" 204 26 23 0 0 0 -3 37 0 0 0 2 0 $702,000
...IS THIS THE YEAR?
# Goalie HT WT AGE GPI Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary
31 Erik Ersberg 6' 0" 168 26 27 1417 2.58 8 10 5 0 613 61 0.9 0 0 2 $700,000
32 Jonathan Quick 6' 1" 216 23 34 1889 2.67 17 13 1 3 896 84 0.906 0 1 0 $488,000
Totals/Averages 6' 0" 192 24 2.83 30 31 10 5 27.6 201 0.987 0 1 2 $1,188,000
TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $43,918,000
CAP SPACE: $12,782,000
*space also affected by buyouts and injured players
hell damn ass kings 30-31-10
* injured
Injury ListDenis Gauthier- Out (Upper Body)
Probable LinesLeft Wing Center Right Wing
54 Purcell 11 Kopitar 26 Brown24 Frolov 28 Stoll 14 Williams19 Calder 26 Handzus 17 Simmonds
7 Armstrong 41 Ivanans
Probable Pairings8 Doughty 6 O’Donnell3 Johnson 27 Quincey2 Greene 5 Harrold
44 Drewiske
Totals/Averages 6’ 1” 209.8 26 182 252 14.3/g 65 4 29.7 8.6% $41,315,000
Frolov has 8 goals and 19 points in 21 career games against the Hawks.
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From The Secret FilesIt’s Obvious to everyone that Matt Walker must have pictures of Coach Q doing something improper. That’s the only way to explain his continued ice-time. We present these pictures from our secret files hoping to reverse the trap Q finds himself in.
Say Q, isn’t that Matt flirting with your wife? Look at her big smile!
Look Coach, that’s Mr. Walker dealing crack to that baby!
Q, that’s Matt who just crashed his car through your living room!
Mr. Quenneville, Walker is hanging out with terrorists. And he’s happy to do
so!
What To Watch For: These two have only gotten through one game in the past two years without a kerfluffle, so those of you waiting for a passionate discussion are very likely to get one. The Kings play a physical brand of hockey, and always finish their checks, which tends to piss the Hawks off. European mongaloid Ivanans is your most likely, though with Eager suspended and Walker likely tied to a
radiator, the Hawks don’t have a dance partner for him. Matt Greene is also a prickly fellow, with nine bouts this year.
Team Opp PPG PP%DET 318 84 26.4WSH 300 73 24.3SJS 317 74 23.3BOS 277 61 22PHI 275 59 21.4CHI 314 66 21BUF 319 67 21ANA 268 56 20.9STL 306 63 20.6NJD 264 54 20.4ATL 310 63 20.3LAK 326 65 19.9TOR 296 58 19.6MIN 283 55 19.4OTT 300 58 19.3
Team OPP PPG PP%CGY 312 60 19.2VAN 302 57 18.9TBL 306 57 18.6NYI 285 50 17.5CAR 340 59 17.4MTL 323 56 17.3EDM 310 53 17.1PIT 322 54 16.8COL 287 47 16.4DAL 318 49 15.4FLA 271 41 15.1PHX 296 44 14.9NYR 300 44 14.7NSH 282 41 14.5CBJ 295 37 12.5
Power PlayTeam TS PPGA PK%NYR 292 37 87.3MIN 253 34 86.6CGY 318 51 84NSH 310 50 83.9SJS 275 45 83.6PHI 349 59 83.1FLA 280 48 82.9LAK 307 53 82.7BUF 299 52 82.6STL 318 56 82.4NYI 312 55 82.4BOS 267 48 82MTL 330 60 81.8PIT 306 56 81.7CBJ 300 55 81.7
Team TS PPGA PK%NJD 282 53 81.2OTT 300 57 81CHI 294 56 81ANA 339 66 80.5VAN 323 64 80.2WSH 354 71 79.9CAR 275 57 79.3DAL 284 59 79.2COL 279 58 79.2TBL 349 73 79.1DET 290 64 77.9PHX 251 56 77.7EDM 296 69 76.7TOR 277 67 75.8ATL 313 76 75.7
Penalty Kill
GAME FIGHT TIME Bloody Nose
Black Eye
Bruised Ego
Just Dancing
Analysis
3-1-09 Eager vs.Greene
1st.11:36 √ Eager lands some shots early before a
quick take down, so we’ll give it to him on points, cuz we’re good like that.
11-29-08 Fraser vs.Simmonds
1st.18:05 √ A spirited if not eventful bout. Fraser
lands some nice shots early, Simmonds some late, and Dan Bernstein uses this
as evidence that hockey players and fans are racist.
11-29-08 Walker vs.Ivanans
1st.1:58 √ √ A day after taking on Parros, Walker
encounters SoCal’s other slob, and lands some solid rights. Walks in a decision.
2-23-08 Seabrook v.Brown
2nd.3:57 √ Brown charges from San Diego to hit
Toews, and Seabrook responds with some nice rights before a quick take-
down.
HAWKS vs. KINGSFight Stats provided by Hockeyfights.com
The Fight Card
Spotlight
Anze Kopitar
ThiswillbethefourthtimeoverthepastcalendaryearthatwehereatIndianOfficeshaveseentheKingslive,andintheprevi-ousthreeencounterswiththem,byfarthemostnoticeableplayerontheicewastheKings’#11.Thisguy’sisthedefinitionofsmooth.There’sisn’tadefensemanontheHawksthathehasn’tmadelooksillyatsomepoint.Onceagain,here’saplayerthatprobablydeservesabiggeraudiencethanhe’llgetinSouthernCalifornia.However,theKingsarefirmlypoisedtobeaforceinthenextfewyears,withBrown,Doughty,Quincey,Johnson,andQuickifhecanmaintaintheformhe’sshownthesecondhalfofthisseason.ButleadingthischargewillbeKopitar.Infact,theKingsmaybepoisedtomaketheirmarkintheL.A.sportsscene,asKobe’skneesshouldshatterinthenextcoupleofyearsfromcarryinghisego,andMannyRamirezverywellmayendupinarubberroomsoon.Thereisn’tmuchontheiceKopitarcan’tdo.Slickhands,goodvision,killershot,he’sgotitall. Kopitarhasalwayshadtheskills,butthisseasonhasbecomeateamleader.He’susedtothespotlight,havingtheeyesofanen-tirenationonhimformostofhiscareer.Afterall,howmanySloveniansareintheNHL?Onewecancount.ThoughDustinBrownwasgiventhe“C”thisseason--andKopitaran“A”--Kingsfanswilltellyoutheywon’tbeshockedifthoserolesswitchinthenextseasonortwo.It’sKopitarwho’sbeenthevocalleaderinthedressingroom,andhe’sbeentheonetofacethepressafterlosses.Kopitar’snumbersaredownatadfromlastseason,butthat’sduetohisnew-foundresponsibilityinhisownend.Notthathe’sbeenagreatdefensivecenter,buthe’sactuallybotheringwithitthisseasonunderTerryMurray.TheKingswerequicktolockupKopitarlastseason,andthough$6.8millionmightsoundhigh,don’tbesurprisedifthisguymakesitlooklikeabargaininthenextfewyears.
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KNOW THY ENEMY
Hawks-kings: the Last 4
March 1st, 2009: Kings 2, Hawks 4Toews, Keith, and Buff all score in the 1st, and Hawks pretty much hold on from there. Niemi
get his first career win. This was about as good as March has been so far.
Jan. 29th, 2009: Hawks 2, Kings 5This will be a continuing theme: Hawks don’t both-er with an effort against a team they feel is beneath them, and it’s too late when they get it going. We
hear Randy Newman too many times.
Nov. 29th, 2008: Hawks 2, Kings 5See Jan. 29th.
Feb. 23rd, 2008: Hawks 6, Kings 5 (OT)Same pattern in reverse. Hawks jump out to 5-1
lead after two, go into pathetic shell and cough it up in last minute. Sharp saves some blushes by win-ning it in OT, but this was still a stupid occasion.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t locate Matt from from Life In Hockeywood (www.lifeinhockeywood.com) to fill us in on the Southland Hockey Club. Luckily, the Kings were just here, and not that much has changed, so we’ll just run the Q&A we did with him last time.
Q: You guys made a pretty decent run at the playoffs, when you were picked to be bringing up the rear. How has this happened?A: After last season, the Kings could really go nowhere but up. The Kings have been stockpiling talent in the minors, and continue to do so. It’s Dean Lom-bardi’s belief that you must rebuild a franchise from the inside out, and he’s doing this. That kind of tinkering takes time. Some fan estimates give Dean a 5-year window that the Kings will seriously contend for the Cup. Depending on who you talk to, this is either Year Two or Three. Seeing that he came in 2006 and it’s 2009... you do the math. The fact of the matter is: they are ahead of the curve. These players are hungry now, and want to win now. You get enough young, hungry talent together and sooner or later, you’re gonna get a team that wants to compete, odds be damned. That is what the Kings are this season. It’s quite refreshing to see.Getting Drew Doughty has made a huge difference. Potential can only get you so far in the NHL. If you have what it takes, you’ll produce on the ice. It happened with Kopitar a few seasons back out of camp, and it’s happened again. You listen to some fans, and they’ll say Doughty is the second coming of Christ. But realis-tically, he has got the skills to become an All-Star defenseman for years to come. And I firmly believe he should win the Calder Trophy this season. I believe in it so much that I wrote a blog about it... (blatant blog pimping!!!) http://lifeinhock-eywood.com/2009/01/04/calder2.aspx Getting Quincey has been a godsend as well. Thanks Detroit.Obviously, Marc Crawford didn’t have Quincey and Doughty to play with, but what has Terry Murray done differently this season?Coach Murray really has focused of the defensive aspect of the Kings. This team is built around young talent, many of which haven’t been taught in intricancies of playing defense at the NHL level. They have always been able to score, last season they were ranked middle of the league in goals. This season, their scoring is down, but their two-way game has picked up. Case in point: Anze Kopitar. The Slovenian player’s points have dropped considerably, but he’s chipping in other ways that you don’t see on the stat sheet, which, unfortunately too many fans worry about. He’s become pretty good defensively, and as soon as his on-ice conditioning improves, he’ll return to form. It’s a hard thing to teach these young players better habits. It’s slow, but they are responding.We saw enough of Jonathan Quick in L.A. Is he the longtime answer in goal? Is Ersberg? Or is there another possibility?God, this is a toughie. How many teams can you say would be better with a bet-ter goaltender? The Kings have had crap, honestly, the last few years. Then this year, the herd was still being culled when Johnny Quick was brought up. And he’s played remarkable. As far as I’m concerned, the job is Quick’s until some-
one else makes a case. I like Iceberg as well, but Quick is that much better.Next season, we should see a more determined Jonathan Bernier out of train-ing camp, and challenge Quick for that starter’s spot. This which will make the team that much better. Believe me, as a Kings fan, we’ve been waiting a long time to have this kind of problem. There’s nothing wrong with having too many goaltenders, right?Jack Johnson has had his struggles this season, along with injuries. What’s the forecast for his career?The hype is he’s going to be the next Ray Bourque. The reality is, and I’m just spitballing here, is that JMFJ will not sign a long-term deal with the Kings. He played at Michigan, he bleeds red and white and his heart is in Detroit. I’m sure he’d love to play for them some day. So, while he’ll be a gamer in L.A. and give his all, his stint in L.A. may already be predetermined. Personally, I’m hoping he and Doughty hit it off and become the wickedest blueline ever. But I think he’ll give Detroit a hometown discount and sign there. I really do.We have loved Dustin Brown for years, though good lord has he been a pain in our ass at times. Only now is he just getting the pub he deserves. You guys watch him every night, is he that ace?Dustin Brown is the real deal. But, he was given a lot of responsibility this season, handed the reins as the youngest captain in franchise history. He’s now going to need to bring the same intensity in the locker room as he does on the ice. That could prove to be exhausting. Dustin, as is the case with many players, is far different off the ice than on. He’s quite reserved in person, very polite. But you get him on the ice, and he hits everything in the different jersey. It’s going to take a season or two for him to really grab this team and make it his own. But he might not even get that. Kopitar has shown signs of becom-ing a solid captain as well, in this his first season as an alternate. He often is the last to leave the ice and really fills that cheerleader role a great captain can do. If Kopitar winds up taking the C from Brown, the last thing you’ll see is Dustin get pissed. In a way, he can now focus on what he does best: play vicious hockey on the ice. And I think that might suit him more. The editor of this worthless rag spent last season in Los Angeles, and was surprised as how knowledgeable and passionate Kings fans are, while being equally sickened by the idiocy found in Anaheim. What’s it like living in the same town (sort of) with those tools?When those dreaded Ducks hoisted the Cup, the pain was excruiating. All those years of making fun of them was known shot back by those hardcore fans. Good thing there wasn’t too many of them. Anaheim has a huge bandwagon fanbase, so it still was fun making fun of these fans in their crispy-ironed jerseys. Plus, the new jerseys look like a giant Spork! They just can’t look cool either way.I wrote a blog about those kind of Ducks fans (more blatant blog pimping!!!) http://lifeinhockeywood.com/2007/06/06/how-to-deal-with-those-kind-of-ducks-fans.aspx. It sums up just how stupid these fans really are. There are some real knowledgable Ducks fans, but they are few and far between . It does kill me to see that Stanley Cup banner up there in their rafters. It should kill every hockey fan. But they got one before the Kings, and that’s what matters.
NAME QUALCOMP QUALTEAM TOI/60 GFON/60 GAON/60 +-ON/60 GFOFF/60 GAOFF/60 +-OFF/60 RATING
Aaron Johnson -0.03 -0.19 11.74 3.88 1.23 2.64 2.15 2.02 0.13 2.52
N. Hjalmarsson 0 -0.12 11.81 0.63 0.63 0 2.06 4.12 -2.06 2.06
Andrew Ladd 0.1 0.16 12.86 3.52 2.23 1.29 2.33 2.12 0.21 1.07
Duncan Keith 0.08 0.11 18.47 3.15 2.15 1 2.54 2.27 0.27 0.72
Dave Bolland 0.1 0.25 12.66 3.3 2.34 0.96 2.42 2.08 0.35 0.62
Martin Havlat 0.06 0.15 13.46 3.41 2.49 0.92 2.38 2.02 0.36 0.56
Adam Burish -0.07 -0.11 7.12 2.55 1.59 0.95 2.67 2.25 0.42 0.53
Troy Brouwer 0.01 -0.17 11.62 2.41 1.64 0.77 2.71 2.24 0.47 0.3
Brent Seabrook 0.08 0.24 16.53 2.63 2 0.63 2.69 2.23 0.45 0.18
Matt Walker -0.03 -0.12 13.89 2.73 2.12 0.61 2.49 2.03 0.46 0.14
Kris Versteeg 0.02 -0.18 12.15 2.69 2.17 0.52 2.69 2.23 0.47 0.06
Ben Eager -0.11 -0.14 8.23 2.47 1.91 0.56 2.76 2.14 0.62 -0.06
Colin Fraser -0.11 -0.15 7.78 2.35 1.9 0.45 2.73 2.2 0.53 -0.09
Jonathan Toews 0.02 -0.08 13.27 2.75 2.36 0.39 2.63 2.06 0.57 -0.18
Patrick Kane 0.03 -0.12 13.86 2.52 2.33 0.19 2.58 2.13 0.45 -0.26
Dustin Byfuglien -0.02 -0.05 11.89 1.97 1.66 0.32 3 2.4 0.59 -0.28
Brian Campbell -0.03 -0.06 17.26 2.72 2.57 0.15 2.63 1.89 0.74 -0.59
Patrick Sharp -0.01 -0.03 13.25 2.52 2.26 0.25 2.9 1.83 1.07 -0.82
Jordan Hendry -0.1 -0.37 8.45 1.77 2.66 -0.89 2.92 2.92 0 -0.89
Cam Barker -0.04 -0.11 13.2 2.03 2.6 -0.57 2.84 1.92 0.93 -1.49
Samuel Pahlsson 0.05 -0.96 12.21 1.64 2.73 -1.09 2.8 1.95 0.85 -1.95
Hockey SabermetricsCHICAGO
Every game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key:QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60,GAON/60-Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.
Player GFON/60
Cam Barker 11.37
Troy Brouwer 9.22
Patrick Kane 8.66
Patrick Sharp 8.61
Jonathan Toews 8.27
Brian Campbell 7.64
Dustin Byfuglien 6.44
Duncan Keith 6.06
Martin Havlat 6.02
Brent Seabrook 6.01
Kris Versteeg 5.44
Player GA/60
Troy Brouwer 3.94
Aaron Johnson 5.4
Adam Burish 5.48
Duncan Keith 5.81
Brent Seabrook 5.99
Andrew Ladd 6.44
Colin Fraser 6.54
Kris Versteeg 6.71
Matt Walker 7.08
Samuel Pahlsson 7.11
Cam Barker 7.67
Dave Bolland 8.03
N. Hjalmarsson 20.53
Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s goals-for per 60 minutes of player being on the
ice on the power play.
Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team
gives up per 60 minutes the player is on the ice on the PK.
Corsi RatingShots attempted for a team vs. how many are at-
tempted against while a given player is on the ice, per 60 min.
NAME CORSI
Jonathan Toews 16.6
Martin Havlat 16.1
Troy Brouwer 14.3
Andrew Ladd 13.9
Brian Campbell 13.8
Patrick Kane 13.4
Brent Seabrook 12.2
Patrick Sharp 11.9
Duncan Keith 11.7
Kris Versteeg 11.7
Dustin Byfuglien 11.4
Cam Barker 11.2
Dave Bolland 10.5
Adam Burish 10
Matt Walker 8.7
Aaron Johnson 8.1
Ben Eager 8.1
Colin Fraser 4.4
N. Hjalmarsson -5.1
Jordan Hendry -9.8
Penalties Drawn vs. Taken
NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60
Adam Burish 1.8 1
Colin Fraser 1.6 0.6
Patrick Kane 1.6 1
Dave Bolland 1.4 0.8
Kris Versteeg 1.4 0.7
Patrick Sharp 1.4 0.9
Ben Eager 1.2 2.5
Jonathan Toews 1.2 0.9
Dustin Byfuglien 1.2 1.2
Andrew Ladd 1.1 0.7
Martin Havlat 1 0.6
Troy Brouwer 1 0.9
Jordan Hendry 0.9 0.9
Brian Campbell 0.5 0.4
Samuel Pahlsson 0.5 1.2
Aaron Johnson 0.4 1.9
Brent Seabrook 0.3 0.9
Matt Walker 0.3 0.6
Duncan Keith 0.1 0.7
Cam Barker 0.1 0.6
Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%
Jonathan Toews 1115 55.2
Samuel Pahlsson 1087 53.5
Colin Fraser 710 48.0
Dave Bolland 1035 44.5
Total Rank: 25th 48.0
Hockey Sabermetrics
Player GAON/60
David Drewiske 0
Jarret Stoll 2.27
Dustin Brown 4.61
Drew Doughty 4.89
Sean O'Donnell 5.27
Matt Greene 5.33
Jack Johnson 5.46
Denis Gauthier 5.85
Anze Kopitar 6.13
Kyle Quincey 6.53
Michal Handzus 6.6
Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s goals for per 60 minutes of player being on the
ice on the power play.
Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team gives up per 60 minutes the
player is on the ice on the PK.
Corsi RatingThis measures how many shots are attempted for a team vs. how many are attempted against while a
given player is on the ice, per 60 min.
NAME CORSI
Anze Kopitar 11.5
Kyle Quincey 10.9
Justin Williams 10
Kyle Calder 8.8
Oscar Moller 7.1
David Drewiske 7
Dustin Brown 6.4
Ted Purcell 6.3
Alex Frolov 3.6
Jarret Stoll 3.3
Peter Harrold 3.1
Matt Greene 2.4
Drew Doughty 1
Wayne Simmonds 0.1
Derek Armstrong 0
Sean O'Donnell -0.5
Denis Gauthier -1.8
Michal Handzus -6.3
Raitis ivanans -9.3
Jack Johnson -10.8
Penalties Drawn vs. Taken
NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60
Dustin Brown 3.7 0.8
John Zeiler 2.1 2.1
Oscar Moller 1.5 0.6
Anze Kopitar 1.4 0.3
Kyle Calder 1.2 0.9
Justin Williams 1.2 0.1
Raitis ivanans 1.2 3.5
Michal Handzus 1 0.6
Derek Armstrong 1 1.6
Jarret Stoll 0.8 1.9
Ted Purcell 0.8 0.4
Alex Frolov 0.8 0.6
Wayne Simmonds 0.7 0.8
Peter Harrold 0.7 0.9
Denis Gauthier 0.5 1.7
Matt Greene 0.4 1.5
Drew Doughty 0.4 1
Jack Johnson 0.3 1.1
Kyle Quincey 0.2 1.2
Sean O'Donnell 0.1 0.5
Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%
Jarret Stoll 1001 57.2
Michal Handzus 1137 54.4
Anze Kopitar 1777 50.0
Derek Armstrong 209 47.8
Total: Rank: 3rd 52.4
Player GFON/60
Michal Handzus 9.82
Kyle Quincey 9.66
Alex Frolov 9.04
Jarret Stoll 8.61
Ted Purcell 8.53
Dustin Brown 5.39
Justin Williams 5.39
Peter Harrold 5.31
Drew Doughty 4.26
Anze Kopitar 4.15
NAME QUALCOMP QUALTEAM TOI/60 GFON/60 GAON/60 +-ON/60 GFOFF/60 GAOFF/60 +-OFF/60 RATING
David Drewiske -0.03 0.09 30.71 1.75 0.88 0.88 1.63 3.26 -1.63 2.5
Kevin Westgarth -0.08 -0.39 39.45 1.46 0 1.46 2.85 3.23 -0.38 1.84
Sean O'Donnell 0.04 -0.04 28.57 1.99 1.99 0 1.98 2.87 -0.89 0.89
Matt Greene 0.01 -0.01 28.13 1.93 2.04 -0.1 2.01 2.85 -0.84 0.74
Kyle Quincey -0.03 0.03 29.14 2.42 2.59 -0.17 1.79 2.51 -0.73 0.55
Kyle Calder -0.03 0.06 32.84 1.99 2.15 -0.16 1.91 2.56 -0.65 0.49
Wayne Simmonds 0.03 0.02 32.19 1.32 1.67 -0.35 2.23 2.89 -0.66 0.31
Michal Handzus 0.02 0.02 32.63 1.88 2.24 -0.36 2.02 2.67 -0.65 0.29
Jarret Stoll -0.02 0.06 33.26 2.29 2.68 -0.38 1.88 2.52 -0.64 0.25
Ted Purcell -0.05 -0.04 34.78 2.15 2.93 -0.78 1.49 2.41 -0.92 0.14
Oscar Moller -0.05 -0.06 33.97 1.94 2.1 -0.16 2.31 2.6 -0.29 0.13
Dustin Brown 0 0.06 30.74 2.82 3.33 -0.51 1.7 2.29 -0.59 0.08
Anze Kopitar 0.02 0.11 30 2.66 3.31 -0.65 1.66 2.2 -0.54 -0.11
Alex Frolov 0.03 0.08 31.02 2.23 2.99 -0.76 1.88 2.37 -0.49 -0.27
Drew Doughty 0.03 0.11 28.08 2.05 2.79 -0.74 1.98 2.38 -0.4 -0.34
Justin Williams 0.03 0.02 33.9 1.49 2.38 -0.89 1.98 2.41 -0.43 -0.46
Peter Harrold -0.06 -0.26 33.86 1.13 2.16 -1.03 2.09 2.6 -0.51 -0.52
Denis Gauthier -0.12 -0.27 32.84 1.72 2.9 -1.18 2.11 2.49 -0.38 -0.8
Raitis ivanans -0.09 -0.28 37.93 0.44 1.62 -1.18 2.21 2.53 -0.32 -0.86
Derek Armstrong -0.09 -0.23 36.21 1.12 2.88 -1.76 2.33 3 -0.67 -1.09
John Zeiler 0.03 -0.08 30.42 1.5 3.74 -2.24 1.97 3.1 -1.13 -1.12
Jack Johnson -0.19 -0.44 38.78 0.41 1.65 -1.24 2.35 2.42 -0.07 -1.17
LOS ANGELESEvery game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key:QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60,GAON/60-Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.
Referee Stats For The HawksReferees 1st NHL
GameHawks Games Hawks PP’s Hawks
PK’s Pens/Game Hawks PP/Game Hawks PK/
GameW L OTL
2 Fraser, Kerry 1980 3 14 17 10.3 4.7 5.7 3 0 0
3 Leggo, Mike 1997 5 19 22 8.2 3.8 4.4 4 0 1
4 McCauley, Wes 2003 5 11 14 5.0 2.2 2.8 2 2 0
5 Rooney, Chris 2000 1 4 1 5.0 4.0 1.0 1 0 0
6 Marouelli, Dan 1984 3 14 11 8.3 4.7 3.7 1 2 0
7 McCreary, Bill 1984 4 17 15 8.0 4.3 3.8 2 3 0
8 Jackson, Dave 1990 6 28 24 8.7 4.7 4.0 4 1 1
10 Devorski, Paul 1989 3 12 16 9.3 4 5.3 1 2 0
11 Sutherland, Kelly 2000 2 11 14 12.5 5.5 7 0 2 0
12 Koharski, Don 1981 4 19 20 9.8 4.8 5.0 3 0 1
13 O’Halloran, Dan 1995 5 26 20 9.2 5.2 4 2 2 1
14 LaRue, Dennis 1991 6 28 24 8.6 4.3 4 4 1 1
15 Auger, Stephane 2000 4 17 13 7.5 4.3 3.3 3 0 1
16 Shick, Rob 1986 1 2 2 4.0 2.0 2.0 0 0 1
18 Kimmerly, Greg 1996 5 26 25 10.2 5.2 5.0 3 2 0
20 Peel, Tim 1999 4 19 19 9.5 4.7 4.7 2 2 0
21 VanMassenhoven, Don 1993 4 17 10 6.7 4.2 2.5 2 0 2
23 Watson, Brad 1996 3 13 6 6.3 4.3 2 1 1 1
25 Joannette, Marc 1999 2 13 5 9.0 6.5 2.5 1 0 1
26 Martell, Rob 1996 1 3 1 4.0 3.0 1.0 1 0 0
27 Furlatt, Eric 2001 6 27 26 8.8 4.5 4.3 2 3 1
28 Lee, Chris 2001 2 11 10 10.5 5.5 5 1 1 0
29 Walsh, Ian 2000 1 1 3 4.0 1.0 3.0 0 1 0
30 Hasenfratz, Mike 2000 3 22 13 11.7 7.3 4.3 0 1 2
32 Kowal, Tom 2000 4 13 10 5.8 3.3 2.5 4 0 0
33 Pollock, Kevin 2000 4 14 15 7.2 3.5 3.7 1 1 2
34 Meier, Brad 1999 4 14 20 8.5 3.5 5.0 3 1 0
35 Warren, Dean 1999 - - - - - - - - -
36 Morton, Dean 2000 2 16 10 13.0 8.0 5.0 0 1 1
38 St Laurent, Francois 2006 2 14 15 14.5 7.0 7.5 1 0 1
39 Dwyer, Gord 2003 5 30 24 10.8 6 4.8 3 0 2
40 Kozari, Steve 2006 5 30 23 10.6 6 4.6 2 2 1
42 O’Rourke, Dan 1999 2 11 13 12.0 5.5 6.5 1 0 1
43 Pochmara, Brian 2006 3 12 14 8.6 4 4.6 2 1 0
45 St. Pierre, Justin 2003 6 29 26 9.2 4.8 4.3 3 1 2
NHL LEADERSPoints
Player Team P
1 Evgeni Malkin PIT 1042 A. Ovechkin WAS 943 S. Crosby PIT 944 Pavel Datsyuk DET 885 Zach Parise NJ 8736 PatrickKane CHI 64
Goals
Player Team G
1 A. Ovechkin WAS 502 Zach Parise NJ 413 Jeff Carter PHI 394 I. Kovalchuk ATL 375 P. Marleau SJ 3724 J.Toews CHI 29
GAA
Player Team GAA
1 Tim Thomas BOS 2.132 Steve Mason CBJ 2.233 Pekka Rinne NSH 2.264 Jonas Hiller ANA 2.315 Roberto Luongo VAN 2.3713 N.Khabibulin CHI 2.49
SV%
Player Team SV%
1 Tim Thomas BOS .9302 T. Vokoun FLA .9263 Craig Anderson FLA .9234 Pekka Rinne NSH .9225 Yann Danis NYI .9219 N.Khabibulin CHI .919
When the Blackhawks signed Brian Campbell to an eight-year, $56 million contract on July 1st, fans from all over rejoiced. For arguably the first time in franchise history, the Hawks signed a free agent in the prime of his career rather than someone entering his twilight (see Gilmour, Doug; Clark, Wendel; Orr, Bobby; Nicholls, Bernie; Coffey, Paul; Housley, Phil; seriously, if you want us to keep going, we’ll be here all day). Following last season’s breakout cam-paign, the Hawks had their sights set on making a public relations splash in the free agent pool. After perhaps a year of scouting, the Hawks identified Campbell as the best available player in the lot and paid him like it. The Hawks even made sure no team outbid them for his services instead of putting up a sympathy bid that had no chance of being accepted (see Roenick, Jeremy; Tkachuk, Keith; Amonte, Tony; ok, that’s enough, we’re breaking out into hives again!). With Campbell came the promise of someone who could quarterback the power play, lead the defense in scoring, and rush the puck up with his explosive speed. While past seasons saw the Blackhawks’ power play run the halfback triple option just to gain entry into the offensive zone, Campbell’s arrival instantly meant the young Hawk stars could shine, as Campbell could single-handedly do the job for the Hawks power play. But, what no one should have expected was a shut-down defensive player. If you did, you obviously didn’t see much of the NHL playoffs last year. So now, just five months into an eight-year deal, Blackhawk fans are suddenly OUTRAGED that Brian Campbell is a shaky defensive player. What part of his career +2 +/- rating made you believe he was Niklas Lidstrom? To paraphrase the NFL’s Denny Green, “He is who we thought he was.” If Campbell had only two goals and five assists this year, then by all means, the signing could be viewed as a disaster. But, so far, he has seven goals with 39 assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring and eighth among all NHL defensemen; the Hawks power play unit has been in the top-ten the entire year; and his speed routinely forces teams to give up their blue line. And, if you really want to get into specific stats, check out his CORSI rating, as his is only one of the best on the team. If Brian Campbell were a movie character, he would be Rain Man. He does some things that make him look like an absolute genius. The first 93 times he did a spin-o-rama, there was a buzz in the crowd, and his speed, at times, can be breathtaking. Then, other times, he can look like a 51 year-old autistic man – specifically anytime he’s in the defensive zone. Again, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He was acquired with the warning label: Do not leave alone unsupervised. So, where does all the hatred stem from?
No doubt, the majority comes from the enormous contract he was handed. Is that really his fault, though? Did he hold a gun to the collective head of Hawk management and demand the ob-scene contract? No, the Hawks paid handsomely for him and when they did, the fan base celebrated. Bells rang, doves flew, the stars
aligned, and for once, everything seemed right in the universe. Now, they’re either vomiting or contemplating suicide with message board acquaintances. But, why? On the whole, he’s scoring for the Hawks and quarterback-ing a power play unit ranked in the NHL’s top-ten nearly all season. After 69 games, the Hawk power play ranked sixth in the NHL; last year, it finished sixth from the bottom. Yes, his defensive play, at times, can be downright offensive, but that is as advertised. It cer-tainly doesn’t help that his defensive partner, Matt Walker, is, at best, a fringe-NHL player. We’re reminded of it on a nightly basis when Pat Foley says, “Amazing, this is Matt Walker’s 43rd straight game – a guy who was on the scrap heap in the off-season.” Memo to Pat: we realize you’ve been calling AHL games the last few years, but there’s a reason Walker’s agent was handing his resume around the league over the summer and why Walker started the year in Rock-ford: *whispers* He’s not very good at hockey. Though, admittedly, Matt Walker has surpassed even the wildest of preseason expectations with his play this season, he is not the ideal defensive partner for Campbell. Yes, he’s a stay-at-home defenseman, but that’s out of necessity; he can’t go anywhere else. Walker is not nearly talented enough to help Campbell after a mistake or, alternatively, Campbell is trying to compensate for the fact that his partner isn’t very good and, thus, makes his own mental
mistakes. Alas, we still have seven years left on Brian Campbell’s contract. Due to the size of the deal and the current economic difficulties, there’s approximately a 99.2% chance he’ll be here for at least the next four or five,
so you might as well accept him for what he is and hope Coach Joel Quenneville uses “Soupy” appropriately. If you can’t stand the way he plays now, you’re going to drown in a puddle of misery come 2013 – and that’s if you didn’t jump off your parents’ roof with Sav-vysMyDaddy18 after Campbell’s performance against the Islanders last weekend. But, before you take the plunge, realize it could be worse: you could be wading in the six-year, $39 million cesspool that is the New York Rangers-Wade Redden pact inked this past summer. Worse yet, imagine the public outcry had the ‘Hawks let the summer go by without adding a key free agent signing to the mix. Your nau-sea, heartburn, upset stomach and diarrhea would have been hastened by nine months. Ultimately, it may best for your health and the health of your families if you just enjoy the fact that the Blackhawks finally have an offensive presence on the blue line and a solid power play quarterback. Those are two things you haven’t been able to say since Doug Wilson’s beautiful Saget-like perm graced the cigarette smog that was the Chicago Stadium air space.
Happy now? Yeah, didn’t think so.
The Fifth Feather is an excellent Hawks blog, run by Bob and John, who use logic and sense to analyze the Hawks. So really, where do they get off?
The Soupy Effect
Matt’s Musings
The Fifth Feather
The Making of The Chicago Blackhawks
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Samuel Pahlsson (COL 7th round 1996) and
Logan Stephenson (PHX 2nd round 2004) from ANA for James Wisniewski (CHI 5th round 2002) and Petri Kontiola (CHI 7th round 2004)
Brian Campbell (BUF 6th round 1997Cristobal Huet (LA 7th round 2001)Matt Walker (STL 3rd round 1998)Aaron Johnson (CLB 3rd round 2001)
2007-2008 Patrick Kane (1st round) Ben Eager (PHO 1st round 2002) from PHI for Jim Vandermeer (FA PHI 2000)Craig Adams (HAR 9th round 1996) from CAR for future considerations.Andrew Ladd (CAR 1st round 2004) from CAR for Tuomo Ruutu (CHI 1st round 2001)
Brent Sopel (VAN 6th round 1995)
2006-2007 Jonathan Toews (1st round) Martin Havlat (OTT 1st round 1999) from OTT and Bryan Smolinski (BOS 1st round 1990) for Tom Preissing (FA SJ 2003), Josh Hennessy (SJ 2nd round 2003) and Michael Barinka (CHI 2nd round 2003)Kris Versteeg (BOS 5th round 2004) from BOS for Brandon Bochenski (OTT 7th round 2001)
2005-2006 Niklas Hjalmarsson (4th round) Patrick Sharp (PHI 3rd round 2001) from PHI for Matt Ellison (CHI 4th round 2002) and CHI 3rd round pick 2006
Nikolai Khabibulin (WIN 9th round 1992)
2004-2005 Cam Barker (1st round)Dave Bolland (2nd round)Troy Brouwer (7th round)
2003-2004 Brent Seabrook (1st round)Dustin Byfuglien (8th round)
Colin Fraser (PHI 3rd round 2003), Jim Van-dermeer (PHI FA 2000) and 2004 2nd round pick from PHI for Alex Zhamnov and 2004 4th round pick (WIN 4th round 1990)
2002-2003 Duncan Keith (2nd round)Adam Burish (9th round)
COACHESHead Coach-Joel QuennevilleAssistant Coach-John TorchettiAssistant Coach-Mike HavilandAssistant Coach- Marc BergevinGoaltending Coach-Stephane Waite
GM HISTORYDale Tallon (2005-Present)Bob Pulford (Too Fucking Long)Mike Smith (2001-2004)Bob Murray (1999-2000)
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com
The Making of The Los Angeles Kings
YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Drew Doughty (1st round) Justin Williams (PHI 1st round 2000) from CAR for
Patrick O’Sullivan (MIN 2nd round 2003) and 2009 2nd round pickBrad Richardson (COL 5th round 2003) from COL for 2008 2nd round pickJarrett Stoll (EDM 2nd round 2002) and Matt Greene (EDM 2nd round 2002) from EDM for Lubomir Vis-novsky (LA 4th round 2000)Denis Gauthier (CAL 1st round 1995) and 2010 2nd round choice from PHI for Patrik Hersley (LA 5th round 2005) and Ned Lukacevic (LA 4th round 2004)Sean O’Donnell (BUF 6th round 1991) from ANA for conditional 2009 pick
Kyle Quincey (DET 4th round 2003) off waivers from DET
2007-2008 Oscar Moller (2nd round)Wayne Simmonds (2nd round)
Davis Drewiske (Undrafted FA)Kyle Calder (CHI 5th round 1997)Michal Handzus (STL 4th round 1995)Tom Preissing (SJ Undraft-ed FA 2003)Erik Ersberg (Undrafted FA)
2006-2007 Jack Johnson (CAR 1st round 2005) and Oleg Tverdo-vsky (ANA 1st round 1994) from CAR for Eric Belanger (LA 4th round 1996) and Tim Gleason (OTT 1st round 2001)
Raitis Ivanans (Undrafted FA)Teddy Purcell (Undrafted FA)John Zeiler (PHX 5th round 2002)Kevin Westgarth (Un-drafted FA)
2005-2006 Anze Kopitar (1st round)Jonathan Quick (3rd round)
Peter Harrold (Undrafted FA)
2003-2004 Dustin Brown (1st round)2002-2003 Derek Armstrong (NYI 6th round 1992) from NYR for
2003 6th round pick2000-2001 Alexander Frolov (1st
round)
GM HISTORY2007-Present: Dean Lombardi1998-2007: Dave Taylor
COACHESHead Coach-Terry MurrayAssistant Coach- Mark HardyAssistant Coach- Jamie KomponGoaltending Coach- Bill Ranford
info in part provided by hockeyreference.com
Playing at home............ 18-8-7Playing on road........... 19-14-4Scoring first.......... 25-5-4Opponent scores first........ 12-17-7Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 5-1-1Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 13-6-6Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0ANYONE blows editors of Committed Indian ................. 0-1-0Playing on a Monday.............. 2-2-1 Playing on a Tuesday................ 6-3-0Playing on a Wednesday........... 8-1-3Playing on a Thursday.............. 2-3-0Playing on a Friday................ 4-4-4Playing on a Saturday............. 7-5-3Playing on a Sunday................ 8-4-0Savard changes lines during game... 1-2-1Coach Q keeps lines as they are..... 36-20-10Are out-muscled by opponent.... 10-17-4Outshoot opponent....... 26-13-6Are outshot by opponent.... 11-9-5Havlat shies from contact......... 16-6-6Patrick Kane scores............... 11-7-3Jonathan Toews scores.......... 12-3-6Martin Havlat scores............. 13-4-1Patrick Sharp scores............ 15-3-2Dustin Byfuglien scores......... 7-2-1Dustin Byfuglien turns down a hit...... 30-18-9Andrew Ladd scores............. 10-0-1Dave Bolland scores......... 11-1-4Adam Burish scores....... 3-2-1, and totally ruins that joke51 Phantom scores....... 3-2-1Duncan Keith scores........ 5-3-0Brent Seabrook scores...... 4-1-1VerStud scores.... 11-7-1Troy Brouwer scores.... 8-0-0Scoring a Power Play goal....... 27-10-9Not scoring a Power Play goal... 10-11-2Allowing a Power Play goal...... 15-16-10Not Allowing a Power Play goal....... 22-6-1Scoring a short-handed goal........... 6-2-0
Allowing a short-handed goal......... 2-4-1Taking 30 or more shots......... 28-16-8Taking less than 30 shots..... 9-6-3Allowing 30 shots or more...... 17-8-6Allowing 30 shots or less......... 20-14-5100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 18-7-71st of a back-to-back...... 4-5-32nd of a back-to-back..... 7-5-1Opponent played night before.... 8-5-2Taking more than 5 penalties..... 16-15-5Taking 5 or less penalties.... 21-7-6Seabrook gets a flat-footed penalty.... 8-5-6Burish takes a penalty....... 7-5-2Keith takes a penalty......... 11-3-2Sharp takes a penalty....... 10-2-2Toews takes a penalty..... 9-5-3Havlat takes a penalty.... 6-3-1Sopel takes a penalty...... 3-2-1Sopel looks 6 steps slow...... 7-5-551 Phantom blows a coverage...... 26-18-9Toews is trying too hard...... 3-7-3At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 3-3-4No fights in 300 Level..... 15-5-3Playing Eastern Conference..... 8-6-3Playing Western Conference..... 29-17-8Playing Central Division...... 4-7-6Playing Northwest Division.... 12-6-1Playing Pacific Division 13-4-1Playing Atlantic Division 1-3-2Playing NASCAR Division 4-1-0Playing Northeast Division 3-1-1Playing in October.... 4-3-3Playing in November.... 6-3-3Playing in December...... 10-1-1Playing in January..... 7-6-1Playing in February..... 7-4-1Playing in March...... 3-5-2Playing in April...... 0-0-0UC plays really stupid goal song..... 18-5-7Huet’s five-hole open like Lindsay Lohan’s..... 3-11-4
Getting obliterated on face-offs....... 13-10-4Are even close on face-offs..... 24-12-7Eddie O tells crew to “stop it right here!”.... 32-18-11Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D during 4-on-4........ 32-17-11Pat Foley screws up a name...... 35-18-11Ice Crew wear skirts....... 7-1-3Ice Crew wear pants....... 3-1-0Ice Crew wear shorts.... 8-6-4Member of Ice Crew hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 0-1-0Leading after 2 periods...... 29-2-3Losing after 2 periods...... 2-15-4Tied after 2 periods......... 6-5-4In overtime.......... 4-5In shootout....... 3-6Cam Barker plays....... 30-18-8Cam Barker is in Rockford due to GM incompetence..... 6-2-3Lacking a #2 center........ 37-22-9In 1-goal games..... 9-7-11In 2-goal games...... 12-7-0In 3-goal games....... 7-5-0In 4+ goal games...... 8-3-0Scoring 3+ goals..... 34-6-7Scoring less than 3 goals...... 3-14-4PA plays Ministry....... 0-0-0PA plays Modern Cock-Rock..... 18-8-7PA plays Stranglehold....... 5-2-4PA plays P.J. Harvey........ 0-0-0Fraser fights...... 7-3-1Burish fights....... 5-2-0Seabrook fights..... 0-0-0Barker fights......... 0-0-2Buff fights......... 1-1-2Sharp fights........ 1-0-0Eager fights.......... 10-3-1On Comcast...... 28-12-8On WGN....... 9-7-3On Vs........ 0-2-0On NBC.... 0-1-0Judd Sirott hates Adam Creighton 37-22-11
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