Two for Elbowing

State of the Sharks... going into the all-star break

A bit behind on complaining about writing about the Sharks, so here's some catch-up moving into the All Star Weekend.

Detroit game: In case anyone was wondering, Detroit is clearly is clearly a better team than the Sharks. I actually think the talent is fairly close (and I think sharks goaltending is much better) -- but Detroit has the committment and discipline to implement and follow the system more than the Sharks do. There were times when the Sharks were playing the Wings very well, and if you exclude the sequence of penalties, the game was fairly balanced. But of course, you can't exclude that sequence of penalties (and I was probably the only person in the arena who thought the reffing was good; in fact, the penalty given to the Wings in the middle of it all was really a gift and kept it from being worse), and the Wings buried the Sharks during it.

There's no question in my mind that for the Sharks to advance in the playoffs they do so through Detroit and/or Anaheim, and right now, they won't. I can't see this team playing like this beating either of those teams in a series.

As to the chicago game: they won, but to be honest, at one point I asked Laurie how a team playing as badly as it did at times (especially the first ten minutes of period 1 and the early parts of period 2) was up 3-1? Answer: great play by Nabokov and a few lucky plays and bounces.

The ice frankly sucked, and it impacted both teams -- but the Sharks skated the applesauce better than the Hawks did, and found a way to make things happen. but it wasn't pretty, not remotely at various times during the game. Take the win, don't be proud of it.

On the plus side, Jonathan Cheechoo is starting to look like Cheechoo again, finally, so it seems whatever was slowing him down as far as recovery from the hernias or early season groin or whatever is over, and he's regaining his game.

Going into the All-Star break, let me award a few awards.

First, the team studs:

Joe Thornton
Milan MIchalek

What can I say about these two? Thornton is team MVP and Michalek is his wingman. Both impress pretty much every night in both ends of the rink

Craig Rivet -- not a legitimate #1 scoring defenseman, but a good puck mover and influence on the younger D. Definitely stabilizing things for us .

Steve Bernier --playing good, solid hockey.

Jeremy Roenick -- what a wonderful surprise, on and off the ice. Playing well enough that I'm wondering if he's going to want to play one more season after this -- and if he does, he's welcome on my Sharks team. He's not that far behind Modano for goals scored; I doubt he'll catch him, but maybe it's a goal for him..

Mike Grier -- great hustle, every shift, every night. Wish everyone on the team played like this.

Torrey Mitchell -- great hustle, every shift, every night.

Douglas Murray -- really transformed his game for the better. I'd love to see him work some of the physicality back into it, but not at risk of the improvements regressing.

Evgeny Nabokov -- without him, we'd suck. Period. Fighting Big Joe for team MVP.

Those are the guys who are making sure the Sharks are as good as they are, when they're good. Don't even bother calling Doug Wilson about them, the answer is no.

Team Goats:

Patrick Marleau: -21? Patrick, if you're hurt, sit and heal. if you're not hurt, slam your hand in a door a few times, then sit and heal. Please.

Sandis Ozolinsh and Alexei Seminov: combined 4 goals, 16 points and -12. Between them, you ALMOST have a 6th defenseman, but the reality is, both players (much as I love Sandis for his early days with San Jose) are proving themselves to be marginal at best in this league and division.

Marcel Goc: not a major disappointment, but I am expecting more than 2-3-5 for -10. The biggest problem I see is he struggles to compete for pucks along the boards, and loses too many of those battles.

(notably missing from the list of goats: Curtis Brown, who has played his way off my goat list, and Cheechoo, who seems to be rounding into the form I expect of him)

To me, this is a first-round team. it's been given chances to turn it around and fix the problems. It hasn't. So it's time to consider changes.

The player that is most disappointing is Patrick Marleau. his numbers, his physical presence on the ice both are terrible -- and given his new contract, unacceptable. his feud with Ron Wilson isn't just an open secret, it's been confirmed by Doug Wilson. Marleau hasn't shown the professionalism to play despite that to the talent he has, and frankly, I'm tired of waiting. It seems that one or the other needs to move on, and frankly, I don't see this as a Ron Wilson coaching problem. He can't force the players to want to play to their potential, adn the problem isn't coaching or talent or system, it's that some players simply haven't agreed to buy in and sell out on the ice consistently, starting with marleau.

So I keep Wilson, and look to move Marleau. Marleau hasn't done anything to earn any consideration that we should keep him and change coaches, and I see no sign anywhere else on the team that the coach is a problem. Firing the coach is an easy solution, but not necessarily a fix, and in this case, I wouldn't do it.

If anything, the biggest problem with the team is that it is so young; the players are good and willing, but we seem to be short a veteran or two needed to help the kids understand what's needed to succeed and teach them how to be ready for every game, every shift. That's not really something a coach can teach -- only lecture about. That's why teams covet older leadership and guys like Mike Grier and Jeremy Roenick. I'd love to add someone like that to the blueline (no insult intended to Kyle McLaren, but he doesn't seem to be that guy; Rivet helps, but we need one more defensive veteran and if possible, one that can get Marleau off the point of the power play and has some presence. Chris Chelios ain't coming here, though, so let's find someone else).

My first goal is to upgrade defense if I can. Maybe not with Marleau, but somehow. Frankly? I'd like to see the Sharks talk to Lombardi about bringing in Rob Blake. It may seem insane to talk about at trade in division, but it'd keep Blake on the west coast, it wouldn't hurt LA long-term because he's unlikely to re-sign with the Sharks, but man, would he make a difference down the stretch here.

Then, I'd entertain offers for Marleau. There have been rumors, like Marian Hossa, which would be nice if we could re-sign him (and Marleau being under contract is an advantage to Atlanta); another option is Tampa, where one of the big three is likely going. Brad Richards? Martin St. Louis? There will be options available for the right price. For the right deal, I'd also package in Christian Erhoff, but I'm hesitant to give up a blueliner -- he's MOST expendable to me, but not someone I'm actively shopping. Goc might have some value as part of a larger deal. I'm not terribly motivated to move anyone else on the active roster -- but anyone not listed above as a stud I'd listen to suggestions.

Oooh, one thing I'd love to see: bring in Mike Sillinger. Just because.

My bottom line: this team is a good team, but not QUITE right. There's no killer attitude, no win-at-any-price mentality, and so I think we need to either decide to be patient another year (gah!) while the kids grow up, or make some changes to rejigger that chemistry a bit and grow the team up faster. I"m not sure the fans OR Doug Wilson really has much taste for "let's give them another year", especially since one of the key guys who I think hasn't gotten that "win at an cost" attitude is Marleau, and another year won't mature him. I think he needs a change of scenery, and that such a move would benefit everyone. He's just TOO mellow. Perhaps a stint in Calgary with Mike Keenan would help. Or Hitchcock. but clearly, he isn't listening to Ron Wilson, and it's gone on long enough to believe that won't change.

too bad. I like Marleau. But I just don't see this team taking the next step with him at captain -- and I don't see a way to remove the C and leave him on the roster. So we need him to move on and get a fresh start in a new system with different expectations. Atlanta may well be the best option for him, if what he really wants to be The Guy (as some rumors imply....) -- but he won't succeed unless he stops being so mellow about things.

I fully expect Doug Wilson to shake things up now. It's only when and who.

and until then, we'll keep having games like the Wings game, and victories like the Hawks game that you hold your nose and take the points... And until we see those changes, I, for one, am not worrying about making plans to do things other than hockey after the first round...

Let's cut down the goalie gear already!

Dallas Stars Blog:: SLIM-N-FAST:

As of Monday, NHL goaltenders had combined to make 35,033 saves. Yes that's a lot of rubber hitting human, but this next number seems to suggest that they aren't that hard done by.

16,289 shots have been blocked by the brave and scantily equipped individuals that play in front of them. You know, the ones with no Kevlar masks, no thick shock absorbing pads, no full body armor.

That means that in the first half of this season, for every two saves the goalies have made one save has been made by a forward or defenseman.

So if over 16,000 pucks can be stopped with body contoured gear and bravery, then trimming a few inches off the goalie union's inflated bulk shouldn't create a run on medical supplies.

Razor cuts to the chase here -- I'd been mulling over the same general idea, but he got the data and the details. the entire league has morphed into Craig Ludwig, and if the defensemen can do it, the goalies need to stop whining about feeling the puck once in a while and get ready to use smaller pads, glove and blocker.

I think I'm out of patience.

I think if I were Doug Wilson, I'd be out of patience.

Last night's game against Dallas was disappointing. The ice wasn't great, but the Sharks should understand how to play that ice by now, and it seems to bother them a lot more than the other teams. Dallas deserves credit for playing hard and skating hard, and the Sharks just didn't step up the game to match.

I don't know why Ron Wilson insists on playing Marleau on the point on the power play. Well, yes, I do, none of our defensemen can really QB the power play, but Marleau's not really doing much better. And five on five? Marleau keeps really disappointing me. -1 last night, -3 against Phoenix, -1 against Anaheim, even against Toronto, -1 against Vancouver. For those counting, that's -6 with 1 goal and 3 assists in the last five games, averaging 15-16 minutes a night and first power play.

It doesn't get any better with Marleau -- his last plus game was LA on 12/26, and that's almost a month ago. In the last 15 games, he was plus ONCE, even three times, and minus 11 times. In those 15 games, he had one multi-point game, and has 2 goals and 5 assists. 7 points and a combined -14 in ten games?

(sounds of hair being torn off my head. both of them)

I'm not sure why Ron Wilson is unwilling to SIT HIS FREAKING BUTT in the pressbox. Bring up Kaspar if you must. Move Mitchell to the 2nd line and sit Marleau on the 4th line if you want. Do something. Send a message here, Ron.

(it's funny, but the guys on the XM morning show were on the "I don't know why they aren't playing marleau on the top line..." thing again. You know, I have a similar question. I don't know why the Sharks are bothering with him on the second line at this point -- putting him on the first line? Please... I want SOME chance of winning)

If I'm Doug Wilson, I'm listening to suggestions. Unfortunately, I also know I've waited long enough that those suggestions are going to be insulting, but it's time to consider moving Patty. See what you can get. Start with a defenseman with some offensive ability on the PP.

Ozolinsh -- god, I love the kid (Laurie and I helped him buy his first mac, god knows how many years ago) -- but at the end of the day, he's Sandis. Crazy in the offensive zone, dangerous in the defensive zone. he tries, but he just isn't the best defensive defenseman out there. He makes a nice 7th D, but no more now.

Semenov is trying, but he's too slow; took three pylon penalties last night and watched the first 18 minutes of the third -- I knew when Wilson put him out with 1:30 to play that Wilson was sending the team a message, and that message was "I don't believe you can pull this sucker out, and I want you to know that..."

You can look at the losses in the last 15 games, and in almost ever case, you can say that it Marleau's minuses were even zeros -- many of those games would have been victories. it seems Marleau's line is minute no matter who is playing on that line; there's only one common factor here.

And last night he fell asleep at center ice and got undressed for a breakaway. gah.

I've been patient with Marleau. I've been supportive of Marleau. I've been a fan of Marleau.

And now, as virtual GM of the Sharks, I'm trading Marleau for a bag of pucks if I have to. At this point, I see it as addition by subtraction. I don't know what's going on with marleau; it doesn't seem to be an injury, unless it's a permanent braincramp -- but it's time for the Sharks to solve it, since Marleau seems unable or unwilling to fix himself. A few games in the pressbox (hell, I'd rather see Davison in the roster right now than marleau playing forward. Put HIM on the point; it can't be any worse) would be a start, but I think it's time for Marleau to try on a new uniform.

I considered suggesting removing the C (and giving it to Grier), but Marleau just seems to be the kind of person who would go in the wrong direction there. not motivation, but further into the shell. you can't turn it into a "focus on your hockey" moment, which is too bad.

But it's painfully obvious this team is improving -- in fits and starts -- but needs some changes to talent and chemistry. And you look at who's not getting the job done, and night after night, game after game, there's only one name in common.

Time to do something, Doug and Ron.

sharks get eaten by coyotes..

ugh. out-worked, out-hustled. Lost 2/3 of the faceoffs. outhit 2:1. sloppy coverage, bad passing, lots (too many) odd man rushes. All in all, give credit to the Coyotes for hard work, but the Sharks played a sloppy, lackluster game tonight. Deserved to lose. Hopefully, it's one game and not a trend.

Sharks lose to Anaheim. Again. In Overtime. Again.

Sharks get within a minute of going home with two points again, and can't hang on and end up losing to Anaheim. Again.

Alexander Semenov, bless him, offers to fall on his sword:

Sharks’ Semenov: “I’ll take the blame” - The San Jose Mercury News Sharks Hockey Blog -:

“I overthink on the play,” said Semenov, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound free agent signed this
past summer. “”I’ll take the blame.”

But in reality, it's not his fault. Or JUST his fault. Or maybe even anyone's fault on the Sharks. The Ducks really turned it on, the Sharks got forced into a shell (that wasn't a "prevent defense", that was "oh my god, here they come again!") and almost pulled it out anyway. That shot by doug weight looked to be on purpose, and that was a stunning piece of work, even if it wasn't what he intended, but from my look at it, he did.

Now, that the Sharks got forced into that shell by the Ducks -- it's somewhat worrisome. The GOOD news is that the Sharks have taken five of six games into the last minute. The BAD news is they only have one win and some overtime points. That to me still says "coin flip" -- only right now, the Ducks are winning the flips. The Sharks have to get better, but not A LOT better, and have plenty of time to figure out how. I'd still take this team into the playoffs against the Ducks tomorrow if I had to, but I'm happier to have time to keep working on the mental toughness, which is what's not quite there yet. Definitely better than a couple of weeks ago, but a work in progress.

But first, a digression into gripes about who do commentary on teams without really researching them... This is specifically pointed at some of the national media (the talking heads on the NHL network and XM radio, but a few of you bloggers get a whack with the salmon of contrition, too...).

What set me off this time were the guys on NHL network doing the "Why did Ron Wilson start Greiss?" about the Anaheim game. Well...

First, Wilson went into some detail about it on the pre-game show. Here are some of the pertinent facts:

• it's the second set of 3 games in four nights, only this time, no break after for Nabokov to rest.


• Greiss beat the Ducks in pre-season, in Anaheim


• The Sharks are playing a lot better on the road than at home

So right on the face of it, if you look at those three games and try to figure out which one is easiest for Greiss to debut in, well, on the road, in a building he's played in, against a team he's beaten (even in pre-season). that's a pretty smart guess, especially with the Sharks playing so well on the road.

Not difficult to reason out, even if you didn't hear Wilson speak. The Sharks road performance is the talk of most pundits, and Greiss' victory in the pre-season is five minutes with google. Too much work, I guess, for someone paid to be (or at least sound) intelligent on national TV...

This is particularly frustrating at XM at times, where hosts come on and ask rhetorical questions (and then answer them), like, oh, "what was Bryan Burke THINKING?" -- and I was listening to Burke on the air two hours earlier explaining himself. Now, I don't expect someone paid to know this stuff to know everything, or be rooted to XM during their non-air hours, but man, if the subject of your talk was on the air, can it be too much to check out a transcript before you go on the air?

Guess so. It's not about knowing what you're talking about, it's about being easy with having the answer, even if it's completely wrong and uninformed. And out here on the left coast, it's a bigger problem, because evidently all hockey hosts are genetically programmed to be asleep early and only see the NHL Live highlights of pacific division teams. Doing real research on them? Priceless...

But that goes back to my previous wish that XM, the NHL (and now the NHL network) get some kind of west coast outpost that at least has no excuse from the time zones to not do their homework... Yeah, I'm holding my breath for that...

Now, back to Greiss. First, he wasn't the reason the Sharks lost. The team simply couldn't handle the onslaught when the Ducks went into desperation mode. it's a team-wide issue, one that's improving, but not fixed yet. and Greiss looked pretty impressive, actually. Nice...

But there are two more reasons why it made sense for Wilson to play Greiss in Anaheim. Asusming you decide it's time to rest Nabokov and ONE of these three games is going to be Greiss', you pick Anaheim because of all of the reasons above, AND it's the game the Sharks are most likely to lose (or perhaps least painful to lose?); if you assume that the team is more likely to lose when Greiss debuts (not a bad assumption for any number of reasons, like nerves or unfamiliarity or communication issues), then why play Gress against, say, Toronto and risk losing that game, then have to worry about losing to Anaheim anyway. the Sharks took five of six points in that three games, so what Wilson did worked (although the sixth point would have been even better!). Imagine our discusions if he played Greiss on Saturday against the Leafs (and lost), and then Nabby went into Anaheim and lost anyway (since Greiss wasn't why we lost!) -- and here we are, talking about 3 points out of six, or even two.

Not that a coach would ever hint at having a reason like "because I wouldn't have been surprised to lose to Anaheim, so this is how we garnered maximum points. That fifth point is a bonus point to me". that kind of reasoning is way too deep for the guys on NHL Live, you know? (Oh, ignore me...)

And one final reason you play Greiss in Anaheim. Assuming you lose, the coach can now play the "yeah, our record against Anaheim isn't the best, but they beat our backup goalie" mind game. And if they win anyway, he can play the "hey, we beat them with our backup goalie!" mind game. And of course, he'd never admit that. Not near anyone who can quote him in press or on a blog...

So to everyone questioning Wilson about why he made the decision, it's not that Wilson screwed up, it's that you're not thinking about the situation in any detail. it's all facile, quick shoot from the hip analysis, and it's the analysis misssing the target here...

And that's where the national media and the folks who speak about teams they don't follow closely are people you should read with a jaundiced eye... Easy answers aren't necessarily useful ones, especially in hockey...

Cujo to Flames? Really? REALLY?

Curtis Joseph signing with the Flames?

My initial reaction: What, the job at the car wash didn't come through?

okay, somewhat more seriously... It's not a bad deal for either. And if ever you wanted evidence that hockey is big business, that these two could put the past behind them and even say hello to each other proves it. And now they're working together again. And congratulations (and good luck) to both of them.

So, what do we complain about now?

Sharks fans -- and worse, sharks pundits -- seem to have a problem. What is there to complain about now?

After last night's win over Toronto in the tank, we see the San Jose Sharks with the 3rd best record in the NHL after Detroit and the Senators. The team has 3 wins and 7 points in the last four home games, including the last two being very strong (almost workmanlike) efforts -- they finally are hitting their stride at home.

You have to go back to December 22nd for their last regulation loss, that's 7 wins and an OTL. Last ten games is a terrible 7 wins, 1 loss, one OTL. heck, even at home, their last ten games is a respectable 5 wins, 3 losses, 2 OTL for 12 points in ten games.

Lack of production from the defense and power play? Last night, two goals from the defensive position (Marleau was playing D when he scored on the PP), Rivet has 5 points and three goals in four games, along with points from Carle and McLaren. Secondary scoring is showing up, especially from guys like Rissmiller and Bernier. Thornton continues to motor away and get his points, too.

The team has crossed the .500 mark (9-9-4 for 22 points in 22 games) at home.

Heck, even Patrick Marleau looks better, and the last couple of games, Jonathan Cheechoo seems to me to be starting to look like Cheechoo again, motoring around a bit like Jeff Odgers with soft hands. Oh, yeah, and Jeremy Roenick is looking like the JR in Chicago -- Don't know what Doug Wilson knew, but there's some definite magic here. Even my early season whipping boy, Curtis Brown, has hauled himself off the cart I stuffed him on and is playing well in his role.

This creates a real problem for Sharks fans who like to bitch... What is there to bitch about? The team struggled at home early, it didn't always play as well as we wanted -- but unlike some other teams, it never dug itself a hole, it simply hung around as 5th or 6th best team in the league. And now the missing pieces seem to be showing up, and the team's headed off into elite placement as we expected. As I love to point out, it's a lot better to end the season playing well than start that way and fade, and that seems to be where this team's headed. We have to remember we're doing this without Ryan Clowe, too, a non-trivial injury loss.

I was wondering what team would show up last night. Indications were encouraging, but the important part is sustaining it. One or two games didn't matter, did the Doug Wilson tongue lashing take hold? Last night, I think we got the answer -- early in the season, this team would have shut down after the early goal, but last night, it just kept pushing away until it found a chance and capitalized on it. Game didn't start all that well -- the Sharks looked tight and nervous, and Toronto came out early and out-skated them and out-worked them. Even at that, the Sharks didn't look bad to me, just that Toronto looked better. The Leafs caught a mistake and buried it for 1-0, but even so, I felt the Sharks were in good position.

In between periods, some of my section-mates were bitching about the Sharks, and my view was that it wasn't the Sharks fault, but credit to the Leafs. With the Sharks being on HNIC for the first time in a while, a bunch of the players were clearly showing the "my entire town is watching" nerves early on. I said at the time I felt the Leafs couldn't do that for 60 minutes and that the Sharks would take this one, to skeptical reactions...

Start of the second made me worry a bit. The Sharks looked flat, Toronto kept pushing. Terror hit the stands when Nabokov went down and stayed down (replays showed it to knee to the helmet, fortunately not serious); Nabby gave up a bad goal shortly after that clearly seemed to show he was still slow from the hit, but then he settled down and was fine. After that, you could start to feel the momentum shifting. There were three shifts in a row about the 10 minute mark of the 2nd -- the Roenick line, the Grier line, and the Roenick line again (smart move by Wilson) that simply pinned the Leafs in their zone cycling and pounding, and after that, the Sharks started rolling. The shot counts for the 2nd and 3rd tell the story, and the Sharks fight back to win 3-2 going away. Once the first goal was scored, you could see the Leafs deflate and start playing "not to lose" hockey, and the only question was whether the sharks would have the time to score the goals. They did.

All in all, that seems to be the character of the Sharks now: steady, patient, "not how you start, how you finish" -- they could be more physical, but honestly, their focus is on taking hits when they make sense, but playing the position and the play and not play for the hit. This is most noticeable in the change in game (quality and results) in Doug Murray (at +17, but it's looking like Big Joe will catch him soon).

So some folks are going to be miserable here -- there's very little to complain about. Me? I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show. If the Sharks can keep this going, the only thing they really have to worry about is Detroit (and maybe Anaheim... they still worry me, especially if Teemu comes back). But even so, you're starting to see some separation in the logjams that are the stanndings -- Detroit at 70, Ottawa at 62, then San Jose at 56 and New Jersey and Dallas at 55, then you have a few points until you hit Pittsburgh at 53 and Montreal and a bunch of teams in the west at 52. Four points between San Jose and four teams isn't a huge lead -- but it's a bigger lead than has existed for anyone but detroit this season....

The West continues to show how tough it's going to be: Anaheim is currently 7th seed with 52 points, and the Blues (way to go, J.D.!) in 9th at 49. 49 points in 42 games trends towards needing 95 points to make the playoffs in the West (in the East, it's trending towards 89) -- there's no wiggle room. The Sharks have to remember they're literally a four game losing streak from being out of the playoffs.

And so tonight, at 5PM, the Ducks in anaheim. Should be a fun game. I'm looking forward to sitting down with some popcorn and a beverage and enjoying the show....

Cujo to Sharks? No.

Cujo to Sharks? No. Vesa vs. Sharks? Yes - The San Jose Mercury News Sharks Hockey Blog -:

I nosed around a little this morning and found this out : The Sharks did have conversations at one point with Cujo’s agent. But that was as they were getting ready to place backup Dimitri Patzold on waivers in order to send him to the minors and bring up Thomas Greiss. Once Patzold cleared waivers and the Sharks knew their goalie stable was still full, the talks ended. Had the Sharks lost Patzold to another team, those Cujo conversations might still be ongoing.

Coach Ron Wilson even joked about the Cujo rumors in talking with reporters — including the Toronto media entourage — at this morning’s skate.

“If Cujo comes and wants to sit on the bench for 40 games, he can come,” Wilson said, expressing further confidence in Evgeni Nabokov’s ability to carry a heavy load. “I don’t think that’s what he wants.”

From the keyboard of David Pollak to your eyes... I guess that ends that rumor.

When the rumor hit TSN, I was curious. At some level, Cujo to San Jose makes sense. Someone to spell Nabby, maybe take off 10 games (or five, at this point) that the team can trust. I had that feeling that the team just didn't think Patzold was ready for prime time, so they were in no hurry to start him and perhaps prove it.

At the same time, when you watch Nabokov play, it's very clear he's reveling in the playing time, and he sure doesn't seem like he's tiring AT ALL. Right now, he's looking like he could play all 82 games and finish with a flourish. My only worry is whether he could play all 82 games AND stay fresh in the grind of the playoffs, but all he's doing right now is make a case that he can. So how much of his playing time is because of Patzold and how much Nabokov? Say 90% Nabokov showing no signs of needing or wanting a rest. Or more.

And then you think about Cujo going to Calgary, and you start to wonder. That is about as unlikely a team for Cujo to WANT to go to as you can think, given his history with Mike Keenan (there was even one report of Keenan calling Cujo to bury that particular hatchet....). Given the rumor seems to have leaked up in Canada, you have to think it came from someone within Cujo's camp -- it sure didn't come from the Sharks.

So I wonder... Given the Sharks are so willing to discount the seriousness, was the rumor ever serious? Was this Cujo's camp trying to play some other team by floating a rumor that two other teams were serious? Or was this a rumor planted to remind teams that Cujo is waiting, and they'd really like SOMEONE to call and ask about him?

One wonders. it's hard for me to see any place Cujo is likely to land, barring some injury or coming in at a really cheap price. He makes SOME sense for the Sharks in that it'd allow Greiss to also go down to Worcester and play, but I'm not sure the Sharks feel any need there, or a lot of interest to share the time. And Calgary? As a backup? That'd be fun...

(for those that don't remember, when Keenan went to St. Louis, he banished Joseph as a goaltender who wasn't capable of taking a team to the Cup; now, his solution, Grant Fuhr, COULD, but it was about ten years too late for the Blues. But in Keenan's defense, he was right. Joseph was a good goalie, but always showed himself to be one step short of the greatness needed to carry a team in the playoffs... So it might have been blunt, but Keenan was, if you ask me, right. And his answer was, well, curious. I think he'd have been better off keeping Joseph until a real better option came available, but there's a pile of discarded goalies in the wake of Keenan's career...)

Update: Jes Golbez chimes in...

Curtis Joseph, Wanted Man? - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog:

As for San Jose? Well, Evgeni Nabokov has started EVERY SINGLE GAME this season so far, and it's obvious the Sharks are afraid to play anyone else. At least a veteran like Joseph would have the confidence of coach Ron Wilson.

Spoken like someone analyzing a team without actually watching them much (or at all). Just like most pundits do these days. (sigh).

Caps owner Leonsis says 13-year deal was originally only a six-year pact

The Hockey News: Headlines: Caps owner Leonsis says 13-year deal was originally only a six-year pact:

"So the question was, would you sign Alex Ovechkin for seven years for $10 million a year six years from now? And the answer is yes," explained Leonsis. "So that's how we came to six years at $9 million and seven years at $10 million. That was the thought process."

Essentially, it's two contracts wrapped up into one.

When Ovechkin and his parents walked into the Capitals' offices Thursday, they fully expected to polish off a six-year deal. Then the Caps unveiled the second part of the deal and found a willing partner. Add up six years at $9 million per season and seven years at $10 million per season and you get $124 million.

"How I looked at it is, we have him until he's 35 years old, we'll have him through his best statistical years and his statistics are pretty good right now," said Leonsis. "And who else would you want as the face of your franchise?"

What we see here is the league inventing a new class of contract. This isn't the "best player on the team" contract, or the "franchise player" contract -- it's the "face of the franchise" contract. it's not just for someone who's a good (okay, great) hockey player, it's the person you define your franchise with. In some ways, this is a way to counteract the fan complaint that more liberal (and younger) free agency means players move around too much.

Now, teams are taking the option -- spawned by the improved financial setup of the salary cap -- to take one player and guarantee they'll be around for a long time. Injury isn't really a problem; the contracts will be insured. The only risk is you guess wrong, because this isn't JUST about being a good player, it's about being a good player AND willing to partner with the team to market and promote it AND be the kind of player you can trust to stay committed to playing and training.

The one assumption made with these contracts is that the financial basis of the game doesn't shrink radically; in practice, it doesn't even have to grow much, and if the game does grow, then these players become bargains in later years. If the league falls into financial disaster -- these contracts will be a minor part of a bigger crisis, so the actual risk is low.

The reality is, there's only one of these contracts per franchise -- and not all franchises will have a player they want to (or should give) this kind of deal. You can bet some players are going to want it, but teams are going to have to be careful choosing who they sign up. But I think this deal is a good deal for the Caps, just like the DiPietro deal was for the Islanders. And you can bet, franchises are going to screw this up and make the Caps signing of Jagr look like a bargain, and the CBA, as currently structured, makes it hard to get away from something like this. But when those teams do screw up, it shouldn't be taken as a reason to see all of these deals as bad. Bad deals are bad deals in any form...

I like it. Gutsy. And as long as Ovechkin doesn't turn into Sergei Samsonov, Leonsis is going to be seen as a genius down the road....

The NFL tried this kind of gambit with their franchise player tag -- to keep that key player out of free agency (teams are allowed to declare one player a franchise player, and sign them to a one year deal at least the average of the top five players in the league at that position). In practice, it's used to grab whatever player is hardest to sign and hogtie them, and so it hasn't really created that "face of the team" aspect as much as it has allowed teams to finesse plan B free agency somewhat. So this may well seem to be a place where the NHL is innovating in a better way than then NFL legislated in THEIR CBA.

james mirtle: Cullen and the C-word - A hockey journalist's blog

james mirtle: Cullen and the C-word - A hockey journalist's blog:

The measures that the NHL has taken to prevent concussed players from returning too early are not effective if the injuries are being misrepresented, played down or ignored entirely.

If it's the result of a hit, it's a concussion — not an illness. That's just not acceptable, and someone involved with the league or the PA needs to intervene.

The processes installed by the league work, until the player complicitly agrees to help circumvent them. This is not really different than the Blackhawks of a few years ago, where players who came to the team all magically decided they didn't want to wear visors any more. Nope. No team pressure, not us. Nope. Just my idea. really.

Add to that teams where the team doctors aren't as independent of the influence of the hockey operations management as they could be, and you have a recipe for disaster. Ultimately, though, if a player doesn't want to take the neurological tests and claim it's something else, it's difficult for any but the most progressive medical/team management to make it happen.

This is a place where PA education and the PA and league agreeing on parameters of a hit that would make testing mandatory are going to be necessary here. Players are very competitive, very willing to play through and hide injuries. Injuries to the head are something that can't be left to the discretion of the player, they do need to be protected from themselves at times, and this is one of them.