Owner: Hockey Narrative URL:http://hockeynarrative.com Join Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2007 09:12:20 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Articles, reviews and nostalgia about the NHL, teams, players and issues surrounding the world of professional hockey. Site statistics:Click here
Bloody Chiclets: NHL Points, Parity and Positive Thinking 2007-11-12 13:09:28 The Toronto Maple Leafs are like that blundering oaf in the workplace who always seems to be on the brink of being sacked. He repeatedly screws up, pisses people off, comes in late and occasionally vomits on the secretary. And just as the collective weight of universal condemnation has him on the verge of being turfed, he does something to get back in everyone’s good books.
The Leafs continue to rattle off two or three lousy games in a row followed by a couple of competitive efforts. One of many aspects of Toronto’s game that has fans worried is their goals for and against differential. On the plus side, they are filling the net at a rate higher than almost all other teams. But that bright spot is obliterated by the fact that they have also given up the most goals in the league.
If a team is on the negative side regarding the difference in tallies for and against, it’s obviously an indication of how they have been playing and will normally be reflected in the sta Read more:Points
, Positive
, Positive Thinking
Book Review: As the Puck Turns by Brian Conacher 2007-11-19 13:45:55 Giving up stability for a life of diverse experience has its advantages. The greatest benefit is probably the realization that moving on is never a bad idea. Work hard, stay positive and take on challenges with a smile and you’re almost guaranteed to carve out a decent existence wherever you go. The episodic nature of your life provides the motivation to keep moving, knowing that another chapter will bring the seminal moments, numerous friendships and fresh outlook that staying in the same place never could.
Brian
Conacher lived a colourful and varied life in hockey, observing some of the greatest moments in the game’s history over the past 50 years. Player, coach, manager and commentator were all roles he occupied at various times. While he was never one of the best, most influential or longest serving in any of those capacities, he was still present during some of the most historic and memorable hockey moments of the last half century. He details those experiences i
NHL Hockey Fights: Milan Lucic vs. Mark Bell 2007-11-16 10:57:55 The fight took place early in a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins on November 15th.
With the Bruins already leading 1-0, perhaps Mark Bell sensed an opportunity to provide a spark for the Leafs and turn around the momentum. If that was his intention, he picked the wrong 19 year-old rookie to tangle with.
As the Bruins chased the puck into the Leafs’ end, Bell and Lucic were jawing face to face as they headed into the corner. Mutual agreement and the gloves went flying.
The first few seconds of an NHL fight can determine the outcome as both players grab each other’s jerseys and start swinging.
Milan
Lucic tied up Mark Bell’s punching arm with a rigid and unyielding gripful of sweater and that set the tone for this scrap. As they were positioning themselves, Lucic’s helmet was pulled off by Bell.
Lucic hammers five or six body blows into Bell’s side as Bell tries to gain leverage and get his right arm free. Lucic starts throwing Read more:Fights
NHL Teams Give Thanks for the Power of Change 2007-11-24 09:29:31 The Atlanta Thrashers reacted to their horrific start by firing their head coach. With GM Don Waddell behind the bench they have responded unbelievably well.
The Dallas Stars saw their mediocre beginning as unacceptable and replaced their general manager with the duo of Brett Hull and Les Jackson. While hard to attribute that specific move to better play by the team, the psychological aspect of making it known that lack of results won’t be tolerated can’t be discounted in the Stars’ 4-0-1 record since that time.
The Phoenix Coyotes have been at the bottom of the league standings but have made it clear that they will make moves in an attempt to get better. They picked up goalie Ilya Bryzgalaov off of waivers and have seen him play well in his first two starts, collecting wins in both games.
The Washington Capitals took the unfortunately timed but necessary move of firing Glen Hanlon and bringing in interim head coach Bruce Boudreau. Far to early to judge how it wi Read more:Thanks
, Change
England’s National Football Team and the Toronto Maple Leafs 2007-11-22 07:19:54 As England
failed to qualify for the 2008 European football championship (Euro 2008) with a loss to Croatia last night, it raises the question of whether similar conditions surrounding two teams in different sports can lead to the same kind of results. Specifically, the TorontoMaple
Leafs and England’s national squad.
There are many similarities between the two teams’ histories, fan bases, management, media coverage and lack of success in the recent past.
The last time England won the FIFA World Cup was July 30th 1966, as they beat West Germany 4-2 in the final. Less than a year later the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in the spring of 1967. Neither team has claimed the top prize since. The attention, hype, drama and failure that have dogged the Leafs and the English squad have similar qualities and perhaps can explain to some degree the elusive nature of again hoisting one of the most important trophies in both sports.
Both teams play in proximity to the bi Read more:National
, Football
NHL 2007-08 Regular Season: Quarter Pole Standings and Review 2007-11-21 12:54:26 With most teams in the NHL having played 25% of their schedule, it’s time for a look at how things have played out so far.
Eastern Conference
The Ottawa Senators are in a class by themselves in the Eastern Conference and show no sign of letting up. On the few occasions the team have played poorly, they have quickly bounced back and returned to their winning ways.
The Washington Capitals are about the only team whose season is already looking close to an unsalvageable disaster. That they haven’t made some kind of move yet is perhaps a testament to the lack of other clubs willing or able to shift players. You’ve got to think that head coach Glen Hanlon will be walking the plank any day now. A coaching change can jolt a team in the right direction as demonstrated by the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Thrashers have gone 10-4 since sacking Bob Hartley and are suddenly a tough team to beat. They are now nipping at the heels of the hapless Leafs and within a few points of th Read more:Season
, Regular Season
Theoren Fleury: Rock Solid Reality TV Show 2007-12-01 11:26:57 Theoren Fleury has approached TV executives with a proposal for a reality show about his concrete business. And they have apparently agreed that it would make for an intriguing real-life drama.
***
Tentatively titled “Cement Head Chronicles,” the one hour weekly show follows the former Calgary Flame and his struggle to dominate the cut-throat business world and fight off the demons that haunted him throughout his impressive NHL career.
The pilot show features a shot of a cement truck pouring out the foundation for a new hockey arena in Buddfug, Alberta. Fleury is standing to the side supervising. The camera pans in on his face.
His eyes have a glazed, thousand yard stare. No voice over is necessary to tell viewers what is going through his mind. Everyone who ever crossed him, doubted him, offered him that 33rd beer of the night…the perfect hiding place, never to be seen again…
A subsequent show details the linguistic roots behind Fleury’s bizarre we Read more:Solid
Performance and Mindset: The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Shootout 2007-11-29 10:13:42 The shootout is currently an important part of the NHL. Rip it all you want (and it is rip-worthy) but the ability to do well in the one-on-one tie-breaker represents the number of points that will decide whether many teams reach the playoffs.
With a dozen or so opportunities for most clubs in the regular season, failure to attach significance to players’ effectiveness at scoring goals in the shootout indicates a serious flaw in thinking on the part of coaches and management.
The Leafs are failing miserably in both performance and perspective.
The philosophy starts with coach Paul Maurice, who has a bizarre habit of ridiculing the shootout as well as flippantly dismissing his team’s ability to determine its outcome.
The thoughts and mood of a coach are contagious and influence the players a great deal. Here are some comments from Paul Maurice following the Leafs’ shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night:
Coach Paul Maurice has little patience for questions Read more:Performance
, Mindset
, Toronto
, Maple
Bloody Chiclets: Toronto Maple Leafs Melodrama and Hockey Radio 2007-11-28 13:05:32 A simple, half-baked explanation used to describe the psychology behind the habits and style of business managers, is the “first rater, second rater” theory.
The first rater is the manager who is competent, motivated and concerned only about surrounding himself with the best possible people and achieving results. He will hire other first raters in an attempt to accomplish these goals, unconcerned by such petty things as internal competition or the possibility that he may not be the smartest person in the room.
The second rater, on the other hand, is a bundle of fears, insecurities and complexes. His every move and utterance is motivated by the desire to protect himself from criticism and at all costs, maintain his tenuous control over whatever situation he has blundered into.
The biggest threat to the second rater is the competence of others, for it highlights his shortcomings and risks unmasking him for the fraud that he is. To avoid such a catastrophe, the second rate Read more:Toronto
, Maple
, Radio
Fragments and Viscera from Around the NHL 2007-11-27 10:25:07 With few or no consequences there is little motivation to change or moderate behaviour.
On the heels of the season-ending injury to Patrice Bergeron, a Philadelphia Flyers’ player has once again laid an illegal hit on a member of the Boston Bruins.
There was at least some valid defense of the Randy Jones check from behind on Bergeron. But this recent incident, in which Scott Hartnell drove the head of Andrew Alberts into the boards, together with the Steve Downie and Jesse Boulerice gutlessness, adds up to some habitual nastiness that deserves punishment. No longer can it be brushed off as incidental and unintentional.
And more importantly, it is becoming difficult to say that this reckless style of play doesn’t represent a pattern. It’s still hard to argue (and even harder to prove) that there is a specific Flyers’ strategy to cheap shot opposing players and intentionally injure them. But it does appear that a lack of control and respect for opponents exist Read more:Fragments
Todd Bertuzzi Uses the Nazi Concentration Camp Guard Defense 2007-12-06 08:36:19 I wrote that shamelessly over-the-top title for a few reasons.
First, whenever someone in the past 60 years has blamed his superiors for giving orders in an attempt to absolve himself of culpability in performing an insidious act, the WWII comparison has been a natural one. Especially in a high-profile public situation that involves testimony or court proceedings of some kind.
And, I’m invoking a variation of Godwin’s law to demonstrate that the Todd Bertuzzi
/Steve Moore incident has taken on the same qualities in online hockey forums. Any heated discussion that goes on long enough will inevitably see references made to the attack that took place almost four years ago.
In can be any hockey discussion on any topic. If it carries on, it will eventually go off on a tangent and someone will mention the on-ice assault that ended Moore’s career and turned Bertuzzi into a dead-eyed zombie.
But back to the latest revelation that the Canuck’s coach at the time, Marc Read more:Concentration
, Guard
, Defense
NHL 2007-08 : Spinning the Season 2007-12-05 12:10:38 The Ottawa Senators are winless in seven games but have collected three points in that span and still sit atop two of the three standings’ categories. They’ve got a decent lead within the Northeast division, though the New York Rangers are now nipping at their heels for the top spot in the Eastern conference. And with the Sens in the midst of this slump, the Detroit Red Wings have the best record in the league with a nice fat 40 points after 27 games played.
While it’s been a difficult string of games for Ottawa, it’s a testament to their early season dominance that they are still statistically the best team in the East. In fact, it’s probably good for the team to encounter some adversity early on, have the chance to overcome obstacles, realize that it’s going to take a huge effort to reach the next level and…
Ah, spin! You really take whatever you want from any particular situation, match-up or stretch of games.
Take the handful of Leafs& Read more:Season
NHL Suspensions: Chris Simon Attack on Jarkko Ruutu 2007-12-17 11:43:19 It’s hard to commit an act of violence in the NHL that receives universal condemnation. A player can pour every ounce of energy into an explosive, premeditated, pivoting two-handed slash to the face of his opponent and someone, nay, a legion of people, will come screaming to the defense of the piece of filth.
It doesn’t take much to provide the basis for such bizarro world rationalization. Any questionable action by the player who’s been attacked is all it takes. A genuine foul or perceived slight that went unpunished, either earlier in the game or months previously, justifies the retribution that flows his way.
A barely concealed glee at injuries resulting from cheap shots is not a difficult-to-find sentiment amongst hockey fans. To be fair, it’s the kind of bald-faced sociopathic ranting usually seen in the discussion board trenches, where the normal societal division of those who love to play the callous lunatic and those who love to be outraged is magnif Read more:Chris
, Simon
, Chris Simon
First Major Trade of the 2007-08 NHL Season: Doug Weight for Andy McDonald 2007-12-15 09:01:56 The first significant trade of the NHL season and not a single online fabulist even hinted at it before it came down the pipes.
The St. Louis Blues send Doug Weight
, Michal Birner (an up-and-comer currently in the AHL) and a 7th round pick in the 2008 draft to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Andy McDonald
. It’s hard to argue anything other than the fact that the Blues got the better of the deal. Of course, there are people doing just that. The appeal of occupying the contrarian role is irresistible to many in such a situation.
McDonald’s numbers are down significantly this year and some will attribute that to no longer playing alongside Teemu Selanne. His age and durability (he leaves the Ducks as the current team leader in consecutive games played at 276) still outweigh what the Ducks receive in return.
There is the apparent desire of many pundits and fans to attach Machiavellian-like qualities to Brian Burke. Once a GM has enjoyed some success in the NHL and won at Read more:First
, Major
, Season
, Trade
Sidney Crosby: Canadian Athlete of the Year 2007-12-13 09:16:32 Political pundits–those columnists and talking heads who discuss the government and issues of the day–often end up shaping the news themselves. Influential writers frequently make the move into politics or at the very least offer up their loving paeans to whichever party or individuals appeal to them the most. Their thoughts and suggestions no doubt have some influence on official decisions and policy.
Sports writers also have some clout within the world they write about. Not in the same incestuous way that political hacks court their subjects in the hopes of being asked into the inner circle. Sports journalists rarely, if ever, become part of a team in any other facet except professional sycophant.
But they do channel the thoughts and passions of numerous fans. And on occasion they help to stoke a wave of sentiment that leads to a move by management.
The sports media also chooses the recipients for a number of different awards. Winning such official accolades can boo Read more:Canadian
, Crosby
, Athlete
, Sidney
The NHL, NBA and NFL: League Management and Players Behaving Badly 2007-12-12 09:02:13 Kind of surprising that the NHL would sign off on allowing four players to experiment with the new Thermablades during regular season games. Potentially an unfair advantage for that group of skaters, no?
I guess it’s in keeping with a league that shamelessly tampers with their product, engages in asinine pre-season publicity stunts and gives a big fat screw-off to the most financially viable hockey region in North America in exchange for cycling through a litany of failed franchises in markets where the game has a marginal following.
Can you imagine the NFL giving a handful of players the privilege of being the only ones to use a new set of lighter and more protective pads or a new brand of stickem’ that made one-handed catches the norm? How about a half dozen NBA
players given the chance to experiment with flubber-like shoes in game situations?
***
On the other hand, NHL players seem to be relatively well-behaved compared to their counterparts in the NBA and NFL. What Read more:Management
, League
, Players
NHL Hockey: Memories, Myths and Nostalgia 2007-12-09 10:21:04 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a movie directed by Sam Peckinpah. It’s about the end of an era and the gunslingers disappearing along with it.
The ghost-like figures at the heart of the film are being forced to accept changes to a society that is moving on. They lament the inevitable and do their best to adapt but are drawn back into old ways, regardless of whether it may end up costing them their lives.
They speak in a cryptic and fatalistic patois that pays tribute to an honour code that is also dying. They are wary of the contemporary breed of man shaping society and moving things forward. Those amongst them who try to reconcile with the new ways are conflicted with themselves and their die-hard brethren who can never truly conform.
The movie is heavy on style with a loose semblance of a plot. It is a series of vignettes stitched together, all highlighting the conflict between the outlaw and a world that is squeezing him further to the margins. The lack of a traditiona Read more:Myths
CBC Hockey Night in Canada: Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry and Ron MacLean 2007-12-24 01:51:57 Hockey Night
in Canada
’s Coach
’s Corner, aka the Don Cherry
/Ron MacLean freak show, went beyond its usual bizarre level of awfulness on Saturday.
The desperate for attention Cherry, whose ostentatious camp outfits make the most over-the-top transvestites look withdrawn and tame in comparison, threw a petulant hissy fit on-air as MacLean interrupted his defense of eight-time loser Chris Simon.
Incoherence collides with regression into sulking infancy, alternately coddled and prodded by a professional sycophant.
Add in the insulation provided by a few decades’ worth of high ratings and you’ve got a pair of embarrassing clowns erroneously confident in the belief that they attract viewers based on something honourable, worthy of respect or representative of quality in any way.
Someone who yells, berates and becomes apoplectic at anyone who dares to hold an alternate viewpoint. Completely and totally bereft of skill in defending his opinion except for increasing the
Book Review: Higher Goals by Nancy Theberge 2007-12-23 07:58:44 Higher Goals
: Women’s Ice Hockey and the Politics of Gender is a book that looks at the inner workings of a women’s hockey team through the lens of gender politics in sport. The author, Nancy
Theberge, spent a few seasons with one of the top senior women’s teams in Ontario in the early 1990’s.
Academia, especially in the humanities, has always been plagued by the need to ram the often inexplicable sludge of life into neatly arranged and labeled explanations. The most recent and well-received ideas of the day are either revered or questioned by subsequent authors who then add their two cents. For sure, many of those attempts are downright intriguing and very plausible.
My criticism is that they often seem to conveniently ignore details that would cast their renderings of the world into a less convincing narrative. While mere hints that lend credence to their hoped for conclusions are given far too much weight.
This book mostly avoids that because it isn’ Read more:Higher
New European Professional Hockey League 2007-12-19 11:53:50 Put me down as a supporter of the European
professional hockey league being proposed by Russian billionaire Alex Medvedev.
Competition is always good. It’s great to see NHL brass squirm at the thought of losing total dominance over being able to offer the world’s best hockey players the only viable league in which to ply their trade.
I don’t buy the fear mongering about further erosion of the talent pool. I like to use the restaurant analogy.
A hamburger joint is the only eatery on a busy street. It builds up a good reputation and develops a large customer base. Many people in the area eat there because the food is decent. Others do it out of convenience and because there are no other options nearby.
After a while they start taking their success for granted. They let things slide here and there, try saving money with lower quality ingredients and begin showing the first signs of arrogance.
Then, almost simultaneously, two more restaurants open their doors within Read more:League
Cliff Fletcher Fails as Maple Leafs’ Interim General Manager 2008-02-27 09:15:32 Of course, his time isn’t finished yet. And he well may do something to improve the team and set the plate for whomever his successor turns out to be.
But as far as the all important trade deadline and the potential for increased returns because of the impending playoffs and the added pressure on the [...] Read more:Cliff
, Fletcher
, Maple
, Interim
, General
Valentine’s Day: The Perfect Script and Fan Loyalty 2008-02-13 22:57:04 Many people, mostly of the female persuasion, seem to have a script in their minds regarding the potential love of their lives and how things should play out. One of the most important aspects is the initial meeting. The more quirky and memorable the better.
In keeping with the popular romantic comedy plot-lines [...] Read more:Valentine
, Perfect
, Loyalty
Former NHL Players and Life After Hockey: Dave Feamster 2008-01-27 11:41:35 I decided to take a break from reading hockey or other sports related books for a while. So I picked up “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, a non-fiction book I’ve been wanting to read for a few years. It’s a well-written and researched look at the history and inner workings of the [...] Read more:Former
, Players
NHL Goalie Masks, White-Trash Tattoos and Black Velvet Paintings 2008-01-24 10:30:55 The look of many NHL goalie masks has taken on a certain sameness in recent seasons. Somehow reminiscent of white-trash tattoos, black velvet paintings and mid-70’s custom designed airbrush artwork on the side of vans (remember CARtoons?)
The knee-jerk reaction from most fans is “Oooooooh!” “Kewl!” Kind of like a group of people gathered [...] Read more:Goalie
, Masks
, White
, Trash
, Tattoos
, Black
, Velvet
, Paintings
NHL Hockey Fights: Visors and the Unsportsmanlike Conduct Rule 2008-01-17 11:57:56 I sometimes have a moment of clarity when watching a hockey fight. “This is bloody absurd,” is what usually comes to mind.
An explosive spur of the moment dust-up between two middleweights isn’t the kind of bout that invokes such thoughts. It’s usually a pair of long-standing heavyweight goons who casually challenge each other [...] Read more:Fights
, Conduct
NHL 2007-08 Mid-Season Review 2008-01-10 12:23:46 2008 is the year of the rat in the Chinese zodiac calendar.
Rats are tough, resilient creatures and often fearless when faced down by much larger animals. They’re also despised filth that live in sewers and eat shit.
So the godfathers of the world’s different species of vermin possess some of the qualities important for athletes [...] Read more:Season
, Season Review
NHL Hits and Suspensions: Derian Hatcher, Alexander Steen, Joffrey Lupul 2008-01-05 21:52:01 The Philadelphia Flyers are at it again. This time, however, the attempt to inflict damage on an opposing player backfired.
The hit was delivered by the Philadelphia Flyers’ Derian Hatcher
, fresh off accusations that he bit the finger of the New Jersey Devils’ Travis Zajac when the two teams played on January 4th at the [...] Read more:Alexander
NHL Hockey Fights: Jarkko Ruutu vs. Darcy Tucker 2008-01-04 12:11:18 Listening to the Toronto Maple Leafs/Pittsburgh Penguins game on radio, I didn’t get a clear sense of who had won the fight between DarcyTucker
and Jarkko Ruutu. Shameless homerism by announcers has been known to result in less than objective descriptions.
This fight took place during a game between the Leafs and Penguins in [...] Read more:Fights
NHL Overtime and Shootout Points: Claims of Artificial Parity are Exaggerated 2007-12-31 08:17:40 With the bunched up standings in both conferences in the NHL this season, talk has been about so-called “artificial parity.” This is usually attributed to the frustrating overtime and shootout system that sees one point given to the loser in either post-regulation game situation, while the winner receives two.
Together with the more even distribution [...] Read more:Points
, Artificial
NHL Goalies: Andrew Raycroft and Ray Emery 2007-12-30 12:33:21 Andrew Raycroft has let in 13 goals in his three most recent starts for the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping the team to 13th in the Eastern Conference with the Leafs’ most recent loss, a 6-1 disaster against the New York Rangers.
Raycroft is another millstone around the neck of the organization courtesy of John Ferguson [...] Read more:Andrew
, Emery
Recommend Site To A Friend
