Sidney Crosby: Little Bitch

So, Four Habs Fans had this treasure on their site, and I just had to share.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAle37zwhyA&eurl=http://www.fourhabsfans.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

So. Little Sidney is back to his bitchy little tricks. Just when I started coming around on this kid, I see this crap. My first question is, how is this brat the captain of an NHL team? It's been long enough; we've waited patiently for this golden boy to grow up and start playing a man's game, and it still hasn't happened. Sidney Crosby has made himself, and his team, into a joke. Instead of these antics, perhaps he ought to take a look at the antics of another player. Maybe then he'll understand how the game is meant to be played.

Sidney Crosby has wasted his talent. He has chosen to concentrate his energies on complaining to referees, and now has moved on to taking the same cheap shots he once whined about.
My conclusion is that Sidney Crosby has now joined the unfortunate ranks of the NHL's most coddled and wasted talents alongside Vincent Lecavalier and Rick DiPietro.

There is a difference between building a team around a player, and making that player the identity of a franchise to the exclusion of all others. Like Lecavalier, Crosby has passed the point of no return. He has become used to being the golden child, and having everything his way. Players may come and go, but the team will always suffer from his whims.

While it's been interesting waiting to see Crosby grow into a mature player, it is now safe to say that it will never happen. At least now we can move on and finally declare Alexander Ovechkin the best player in the NHL. Still, I am a little sad, having witnessed a truly remarkable talent needlessly squandered.

Gary Bettman brings the best of the NBA to the NHL--now, with more referee gambling

So, how does a 4-1 win turn into a 3-2 overtime loss? When a pair of refs wave off two completely legitimate goals, and award a phantom slashing call that results in a 5-on-3 for the opposition. That, combined with an 11-1 penalty spread on Tuesday helped Carolina win their last two games against Montreal (and win the bets that the NHL referees made on the two games.)

Make no mistake. NHL referees are gambling on NHL games. There is no other explanation for why these games are being called the way they are. Stupidity and incompetence can only go so far--this goes way beyond what even the most inept referee can accomplish in terms of unbalanced officiating. It's illegal, and someone needs to start looking into it. But as long as a basketball lawyer is running the league, it will not stop.

Bandwagon time! Everyone is talking about Mats Sundin so I guess I'm supposed to.

So. Mats Sundin to Vancouver.
I'm going to go out on a limb here: Mats Sundin will do well.
There's a reason teams were lining up, salivating for him. He is a dynamic center who played some of his best years with horribly sub-par teammates. Last year he had seventy-some-odd points, and that was on a team with aging has-been idjits. Sundin is a big-game player, and he will turn some heads. He can dominate a game, and Vancouver should be glad to have him. I would have liked to see him in the Canadiens lineup, but that seemed pretty remote.

I do, however, think Mats Sundin should have signed with New York instead. The Rangers have a more complete team from the top down, and Mats would have had a much better chance of winning the Cup with the Rangers.

So there's my bold prediction: he is going to have a great year, and may even make some noise in the playoffs. You can be sure that after the new year rolls around and I'm falling asleep to the warm glow of Western Conference hockey, that warm glow will be a Vancouver game. Hell, I may even stay awake to see some of his goals and immediately fall peacefully back into a light, Bob Cole-narrated sleep.

A Hockey Carol

Every hockey fan up north liked hockey a lot,
But Gary Bettman, who liked basketball, did not.
Bettman hated hockey, all its traditions
No one knows why he took such positions
He sat in his office, his teeth slowly grating,
"I must find some way to keep players from skating!"
And then Bettman got an idea in his head
A way to make hockey fans shiver with dread
"I'll become the commissioner" said the old shithead
"And make people want to watch basketball instead."
So he took half the season, in his second year
Which made all of hockey fans shed many tears
He took their divisions, their Smythe, and their Norris,
He ignored their complaints "The Devils, they bore us!"
He expanded the league into odd southern cities
Atlanta and Raleigh, where the ice was quite shitty
And he put glowing pucks on the fans TV sets
And then Gary Bettman took Winnipeg's Jets
Then he took a whole season, 04 and 05
And so the TV ratings took quite a dive.
"And now for my next trick," said the big douche
"I'll design hockey jerseys that will make the fans puke!"
And the fans cried in anguish at the new Reebok sweaters
"A retarded two year old could have done better!"
So Bettman sat in New York, feeling quite pleased
"I'm bringing the hockey fans down to their knees!"
And he heard a small sound as he was watching the Knicks
The sound of a hockey puck hitting a stick.
He ran to his window and looked down below
And he saw the ice surface plowed in the snow
The hockey fans everywhere still came to play,
Ignoring the NHL's ridiculous ways.
They played on their ponds, on their frozen back yards
They wore vintage sweaters, of original six stars
And Bettman was pissed, as he saw they still played
Even after the debacle he'd made
"They play without Reebok, they play without glow pucks,
They play without Thrashers, Panthers or Ducks!"
And Bettman then had a brief moment of doubt
Maybe hockey, perhaps, doesn't belong down south.
And what happened then, some old-timers say,
Bettman's small brain exploded that day.
And the hockey fans cheered for they knew they were saved
And they all started cheering, "Hip hip! Hooray!"
And Leafs fans and Habs fans, the Rangers and Bruins
Started building the league back up from its ruins.
Merry Christmas to hockey, and all of its fans
And may the story I just told (please) be in God's plans
For we hockey fans are Patient, Loyal and True
But please God, take Bettman! What more can we do?!?

Jaroslav Halak: Better than Carey Price.

Discuss.

Memo to TSN: STFU

So it's finally happened. Matthew Barnaby is now a commentator. TSN has decided that one (ahem) opinionated ex-NHL insider in the form of John Tortorella wasn't enough, and have now added Barnaby to its panel for scintillating between-period discussions.
Let's be objectively clear: Matthew Barnaby was one of the premier jackasses in the NHL. He was known for cheap shots, dirty hits, and a mouth that would make a whore blush. Barnaby's favorite tactic was provoking fights and then shying away, or simply pretending to be hurt and then assaulting unsuspecting goalies. Barnaby's actions bordered on the criminal during his NHL career, and by the time it was over, there were few players who considered him a respectable teammate.

Now for the true irony: last night, the TSN panel was discussing Sean Avery's comments about Elisha Cuthbert (which I will not repeat here). Matthew Barnaby was on that panel. I need to confess I muted the TV, but not before he said "Well, I've said some things during my career but[...]"
But what, Matthew? Did you mention that you said far worse on the ice to opposing players, even former teammates? Did you talk about your own penchant for dirty hits and cowardice? Did you mention that you have lost the respect of nearly every player who played against, or even with you?

TSN has turned itself into a joke by having this idiot participate in a discussion condemning Avery's actions. Barnaby was far worse in his NHL career, and someone has got to remind TSN of that fact.

As a post-script, Bob McKenzie, not to be outdone by the irony of the situation, revealed his own stupidity when he repeated, word-for-word, Avery's statement, and in the same breath condemned it as sexist, offensive and dangerously misogynistic. Tomorrow as an encore, Bob will tell people not to say "fuck".

Static

So I missed the game 3 preview and recap between the Bruins and the Canadiens. For that, I apologize. Instead of offering excuses (and I have a legitimate one), I'll offer this quarter-pole assessment of Montreal. This won't take long, because the problem is obvious, and, what's more, it's easily fixed.

Montreal's power-play flat-out sucks. As of today, they are 24th in the league with a 14.4% success rate. The reason is not because Mark Streit has gone, or that so-and-so is cold. The reason became crystal clear on Saturday when Montreal failed to score on a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play. No Montreal player moved from his set position for the entire two minutes. This let Buffalo have a very easy time of it. The Sabres did not need to move, and thus they were always in position to block dangerous passes. It was the easiest 5-on-3 kill any team has ever had to make.

Compare Montreal's abysmal two-man advantage with the 4-on-4 goal they scored earlier. Andrei Markov moved into the slot to receive a beautiful pass from Saku Koivu, finishing what had been fast-moving, and utterly confusing, offensive zone pressure. The Habs were dynamic, skating circles around a bewildered Sabres team. This is why Montreal's special teams have had so much previous success.

These days, Montreal's power play is static, with players opting for one-timers from a stationary point-man, or low-percetnage shots from the wing that usually end up missing the net and traveling along the boards past the blue line. Last year, Montreal's power play was fluid, with players rotating and causing utter confusion for the opposition.

The really frustrating thing about this is that Guy Carbonneau seems content to do nothing about it. He knows, or should know, what is wrong, and that some practice time and some sage advice are all that is needed to change it. Why he isn't doing anything is maddening. Either he thinks the power play is fine (which it isn't), or he has no idea what to do about it (which makes him borderline retarded). These players are professionals. Carbonneau has no problem benching players who aren't doing what he tells them to, so I find it hard to believe that all five players on Montreal's power play are being deliberately disobedient. No, more likely, Guy Carbonenau has specifically coached his team to play this way.

It's time for Bob Gainey to give Carbonneau a taste of his own medicine. Carbonneau likes to punish payers and make drastic changes the moment they do something wrong. It's time for Carbonneau to be accountable for his own terrible performance. It's time for a coach who doesn't mix names in a blender to find line combinations, and who actually knows something about the power play.