In her short life, Sam made many friends through her love of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yet the vast majority of those with whom she communicated had likely never her met her in person. And sadly, they’ll never get the chance.
Word of Sam’s passing away from cancer broke on Tuesday via Twitter, where hundreds of messages from literally were offering condolences to the woman who went by the handle @leaferbeleafer.
Off The Post: 3-on-3 – a beer leaguer’s view.
This column is being written about two hours before the author takes to the ice for a weekly 3-on-3 pickup hockey game.
The timing seems fitting, given that the 3-on-3 format was just one of many rule changes that were tested this past week at the NHL’s second annual Research and Development camp in Toronto.
As reported in Yahoo’s Puck Daddy entry on Wednesday, the amount of open ice didn’t produce the amount of scoring chances as one would assume; however this could have been a result of the timing of the scrimmages, which were held towards the end of a two-hour session among 2012 draft eligible players.
But who wouldn’t want to see this format being used to decide games at an NHL level?
To provide some reference, the Sunday night games in which I participate are free-flowing and dynamic. Goals are scored at a rate of about one every 2 minutes; last week’s final tally was 23-21 after an eighty-minute session.
By no means am I daring to compare our group of players to the NHL (well, except for me playing like either Steve Smith or Chris Phillips accidentally putting the puck into my own goal – that I can do).
It’s just difficult to compile stats of 3-on-3 ice time at the elite level, given that the situation occurs so rarely. In fact, only one goal has been scored at 3-on-3 in the NHL in the past two seasons. Do you know who scored it? (answer given at the end of the column).
There are a few differences between our game, and the professional game, apart from none of us being worthy enough to carry the jockstrap of even a fourth-line pro.
* The rink on which we play is three-quarters the size of an NHL rink. (The Richmond Hill facility is owned by NHL alumni Mike Gartner and Wes Jarvis, in a partnership with Memorial Cup winning coach Rick Cornacchia. The Leafs held a mini practice there in October 2009).
* The neutral zone is drastically shorter; the centre red line is a mere two strides from either blueline.
* Each team is divided into three groups of 3, with each trio allotted shifts of 90 seconds at a time, indicated by a buzzer.
* The rule on offside is – once the attacking team gains the blueline, the centre red line defines the zone for offside.
As you may expect, the play is offense-driven. Almost every sequence within a shift consists of either a breakaway or an odd-man rush. Bring your ladders boys, ‘cause we’re going cherry-picking.
The earlier part of a typical game features teams attacking with two players high, and one defender back. However towards the later half, with one team protecting a lead, you’ll often see only one man forecheck with two defenders back – thus “inverting the triangle”.
At least that’s the intent. In the event of a turnover, who can resist the temptation to cheat on their assignment and jump into the rush going the other way? And if it’s turned over at that point with all three players caught moving forward, guess what happens (apologies to Nick, our goalie).
To reiterate, our beer league style of play is no accurate comparison to the NHL.
However, given the dynamics of 3-on-3, anyone can appreciate the excitement it generates.
The league isn’t likely to implement any of the recently tested rules this year. When the time comes, 3-on-3 should be at the top of the list of changes.
Trivia answer: Mike Fisher, then with Ottawa, scored a 3-on-3 goal in overtime on January 30, 2010. The Senators and their opponents – the Habs – each had a player serving non-coincidental penalties.
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Off The Post: Absence of offer sheets to Stamkos, Doughty puzzling..
When the Tampa Bay Lightning finally came to terms last Tuesday with Steven Stamkos, the five-year $37.5 million pact ended speculation about the superstar’s immediate future.
Not that there was much chance of the Lightning losing their 21-year-old franchise player; general manager Steve Yzerman would certainly have matched any offer sheet tendered to Stamkos, who had been a restricted free agent.
However, the intriguing aspect to the signing is that it occurred in the complete absence of an offer sheet from any of the other 29 NHL teams. Similarly, no offer sheet has been presented to the Los Angeles Kings for the services of one-time Norris Trophy nominee Drew Doughty.
The lack of initiative from general managers to use this perfectly legal option under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement is puzzling.
Few people in the hockey establishment expected Toronto general manager Brian Burke to take this route. While the Maple Leafs are highly deficient in the centre position and would certainly be bolstered by Stamkos’ presence in the lineup, Burke has developed a well-known vehement opposition to the offer sheet mechanism which was the source of his long-running feud with former Oilers’ GM Kevin Lowe.
While it has been four years since Lowe plucked Dustin Penner away from Anaheim with a five-year $21.25 million offer sheet, while Burke was at the helm of the Ducks, the animosity remains.
“If I had run my team into the sewer like that, I wouldn’t throw a grenade at the other 29 teams and my own indirectly,” said Burke as Penner exchanged his Anaheim sweater for an Edmonton one.
But did Lowe’s offer sheet drastically alter the landscape of the market?
Penner may be overpaid for his 186 points in four seasons since the famous turned infamous signing by Lowe.
However, the signings by the Rangers of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury – also in 2007 about a month before Penner’s deal happened – were far more exorbitant.
And while general managers have appeared to become less frugal in their spending in recent years, especially on free agency day this past July 1, the opening of the vaults appears to be an effect of the rise in the NHL’s salary cap. The ceiling is $64.3 million for 2011-12, $14 million or 28% higher than it was four years ago.
The offer sheet doesn’t inflate the market as much as it constrains teams from signing their existing players. Such was the case one year ago when San Jose forced the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks to match a $14 million, four-year contract to Niklas Hjalmarsson. With the cash-strapped Blackhawks exercising the right to match, they were forced to part ways with goaltender Antti Niemi.
Niemi of course ended up signing with the Sharks, tending the goal for San Jose on route to the Western Conference Final.
Perhaps the tactic is viewed as underhanded in the circles of the general managers’ clique.
However, Lowe – in response to Burke’s criticism of the Penner offer sheet – said “There’s almost some insinuation from managers that because we’re friends, we shouldn’t be doing this to one another. I think our responsibility is not to one another, but is to our fan base and our ownership.”
The NHL’s owners and NHL Players Association toil endlessly over the specifics of the league’s collective bargaining agreement. In the end, all parties have decided that the offer sheet, as frowned upon as it may be to some, is a tool available for disposal to every team.
Perhaps if more GM’s had Lowe’s perspective, the process of signing Stamkos and Doughty would be more expeditious.
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Burns’ time will come – but when?.
It’s easy to envision that Pat Burns will one day be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Predicting how long it will take is another matter entirely.
Tuesday’s announcement of the class of 2011 inductees came with a Toronto-centric tinge; Doug Gilmour, Ed Belfour and Joe Nieuwendyk all shone while wearing the Maple Leafs uniform while Mark Howe played one terrific season with the Toronto Marlboros of the OHA.
Burns, who fought cancer for several years before finally succumbing to the disease last November, has been a sentimental favourite for induction into the hall’s Builders category, but was once again denied.
The omission is a head-scratcher, given that this is the first year since 1981 that no builder is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Would it not have been fitting for Burns, who won one of his three Jack Adams trophies coaching the Leafs during “The Passion Returns” years of the early 90’s to have been admitted along with Gilmour, the centrepiece of those teams?
Not because he is gone, and a posthumous tribute would be a nice gesture.
Not because he coached Gilmour, and also Nieuwendyk – with whom he won his only Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003.
But simply because, as stated in this column in 2010, he deserves it.
Unless you are one of the 18 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, chances are that you have minimal – if any – information on how close Burns came to induction. That’s because the committee guards the secrecy of its balloting with the same fervor exhibited by the United States Secret Service.
However, if there is any solace that encourages the premise that deserving candidates indeed eventually get their due, look no further than Howe.
A four-time All-Star who was three times a finalist for the Norris Trophy, Howe had been overlooked for induction for an astounding 13 years before being recognized today. Howe joins his dad Gordie as only the third father-son duo to be admitted into the Hall of Fame as players, behind Lester and Lynn Patrick, and Bobby and Brett Hull.
Let’s hope that the wait for Burns’ day to come isn’t quite as long.
(Video: Gilmour and Burns in a musical mood – if you watched the Leafs in the 90′s you know the words!)
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Off The Post: 2011 NHL Awards -Vancouver’s battle scars haven’t healed, despite silverware
LAS VEGAS, NV – Only seven days after the Vancouver Canucks endured the most devastating defeat in their franchise’s history, their top players came face-to-face with their opponents once more.
The loss of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final was still evident in the faces of Art Ross Trophy winner Daniel Sedin, Jennings Trophy co-winners Roberto Luongo and Corey Schneider, and Selke winner Ryan Kesler as they arrived in Las Vegas for the 2011 NHL Awards.
Their counterparts in the bitterly-fought final series, the Boston Bruins were represented by Zdeno Chara – winner of the Mark Messier Leadership Award, and Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas, who also took Vezina Trophy honours as the league’s top goalie.
With Canucks general manager Mike Gillis being named General Manager of the Year, Vancouver edged Boston by a count of 4-3 in individual trophies winners awarded by the NHL. Unfortunately for the Canucks, the Bruins won hockey’s most coveted prize by an identical tally in terms of games on in the series.
“I’m honored to win this award, but I’d trade it in a minute for the Stanley Cup,“ said Gillis. “I don’t think any of us have kind of had an opportunity to fully decompress from what happened and understand it.
Luongo, who was one of many pundits to predict Thomas’ Vezina Trophy win, appeared to be in the denial phase of the five stages of grief. “We haven’t had time to digest what happened last week yet,“ said Luongo. “I haven’t watched anything in the past week except for maybe CNN. It’s not easy, it’s a tough loss, but it’s something that’s going to heal with time.”
Daniel Sedin, who replaced his brother Henrik as scoring champion, was more restrained in recollecting Vancouver’s collapse. Instead the Hart Trophy nominee preferred to celebrate the team’s regular season accomplishments. “We should be happy with the guys that we have on this team,” said Sedin. “I think the organization should be proud of our team and the players. I know we’re excited, and the fans should be, too.”
Sedin also took home the Ted Lindsay awarded as voted by the NHLPA.
On Boston’s side, Chara finished a close second to Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom, who was awarded his seventh Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenceman. Only a week removed from hoisting the Cup in front of a stunned Rogers Arena, the Bruins captain still has vivid memories of the epic seven-game struggle.
“The referees did a hell of a job to control it so it didn’t get out of hand, but also to let it go and let us have those battles and those physical parts of the game,” said Chara. “I obviously have huge respect for every player on the other side. You kind of have to put that on the side when you are playing them and playing for your team. Obviously we’re all trying to win the Stanley Cup. But we all respect each other. We know that we’re all human. I know how much (the Canucks) are disappointed, but at the same time I’m just glad it’s not us.”
As for Thomas, who became the first player since Bernie Parent in 1975 to win the Stanley Cup, Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy in one year, he considers the animosity of the battle against Vancouver to be water under the bridge. “One of the things I told Luongo going through the handshake line is, ‘For the record I think you’re a great goalie, and you had a great season.’”, said Thomas. It doesn’t really matter what happened.
“What matters in the end is who won the Cup. I hold no ill feelings or ill will for anything that was said by anybody.”
Thomas’ words were offered with the utmost sincerity.
Yet, they are likely of little consolation to his dejected opponents.
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Off The Post: 2011 NHL Awards – Surprise team sends four nominees
LAS VEGAS, NV – One NHL team has a nominee that that is up to win an award in each of the following categories: best general manager, best coach, best defenceman and best goalie.
Can you guess which one?
With the memory of a hard-fought seven game Stanley Cup Final still entrenched in the minds of hockey fans, either Boston or Vancouver would be the natural assumption.
But, take a closer look. It’s actually the Nashville Predators.
The team assembled by GM David Poile reached new heights in the Music City this past season, winning its first playoff series in franchise history in April. Speaking of the Western Conference Semi Final triumph over Anaheim, Poile said “It really shows success of this franchise. It’s a recognition that we’re on the map, so to speak.”
The Predators employed an immoblizing defence-first system on route to a 99-point season, stifling their opponents to just 2.32 goals against per game; the third-best average in the NHL.
For the record, the only two teams better in that regard happened to play in the Cup final.
With Vezina Trophy nominee Pekka Rinne in goal and Norris Trophy candidate Shea Weber leading the blueline, the Predators protected their own end tighter than Carrie Underwood’s jeans.
“I think we proved mostly for ourselves that we’re not scared to play anybody,” said Rinne. “We truly believe we can do it, and I think our future looks great. We have some good players and our core is really strong. We have some good talent coming up, and I’m really excited about next year.”
The challenge for Barry Trotz is to elevate his players to a new level, now that merely advancing to the second round is no longer an acceptable benchmark. Trotz, a Coach of the Year nominee for a second straight year, said that the six-game defeat to Vancouver taught him some invaluable lessons. “The biggest thing I learned this year is, after you win that first series, you have to change gears. After we won that first series, I thought we had trouble reengaging.
“I said to Alain (Vigneault) ‘I thought you only played 24 games (not 25), because Nashville didn’t show up for that first game in Vancouver.’ When you go down one game,that might be the difference. If we win a home game, we’re playing Game 7. That might have been the difference.”
Weber – who paired with Ryan Suter to become the team’s most effective shutdown pair – credits Trotz for his adaptability in the dressing room. “Barry finds a way to get us to perform. He’s been a natural for so long. He just finds a way to change things up and he knows how guys are feeling in the room. He knows how to deal with each guy, and that gets guys to perform for him.”
A restricted free agent as of July 1, Weber – if he signs – stands to become the highest-paid player in team history. The team filed for salary arbitration last week, but Poile expressed continued interest. “There are a lot of things involved. It is a goal to get Shea done into a longer term situation. We’re going to continue talking and go from there.”
Since joining the NHL in 1998, the Predators have carried the label of a misplaced franchise. Even as recently as this season when Mike Fisher arrived in a trade, one newspaper was mocked for carrying the headline “Predators Acquire Carrie Underwood’s Husband”.
However, if the wave of yellow continues to envelope Bridgestone Arena as it did during the 2011 playoffs, the reputation may be soon discarded.
“It hasn’t been an easy ride in Nashville because it’s always been an uphill battle,” said Poile. “But I think having a second chance with the new ownership being able to bring the team back up again, making the playoffs 6 of the last 7 years, and this year winning the first round of the playoffs, has probably given us a level of recognition that we’ve never had before.
“It feels good right now, you talk about players like Weber, Suter and Rinne. We certainly have the opportunity here to be a really good team and a team that – if we add a little bit more offense – maybe a top team in the league.”
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