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As written by Mark Gage, the Canucks have named Roberto Luongo as their new captain.
I am far from a hockey traditionalist, yet whether or not this is traditional or not doesn't play into it. There are good reasons NOT to name a goalie the Captain.
#1- Added responsibility. Goalies have plenty already. It all ends with the goalie.
#2- No connection to the bench. As the game is going the bench is a living being. You can't skate over during a stoppage and get a proper read and talk to your teammates.
#3- Limited connection to the referees. Throughout the game Captains are always talking to refs, even while the game is ongoing.
#4- Being the "go-between" among the players and the head coach. This may be the biggest reason of all. The soap operas on NHL teams are truly unbelievable in scope. The Captain is the guy who often gets caught in the middle and that isn't easy. Tons of phone calls, players asking what the Captain "is hearing," etc. Goalie prep is way too important.
#5- Dealing with the press right after the game. The Captain is also the first guy in the room who we all look to when we need answers about the game. Goalies need time after games quite often to decompress. If a rogue left wing misses his point assignment but the puck never finds the defender it isn't news. Every mistake a goalie makes, every single move, is analyzed. Now we the press are going to also ask the goalie to talk on the team's problem with their power play. This is not to say that goalies don't get a great view, but they are playing a different game than everyone else on the team.
The reason I bring up #5 is not to overstate us in the press as being so important. The bottom line is being the "official Captain" is not needed for many of these goalies. Currently, I can think of two other teams where the goalie is clearly the captain de facto. Marty Brodeur and Ryan Miller are CLEARLY the Captains of their teams and have been for a while. Brodeur is essentially a coach.
Rumours...
I am still hearing plenty of rumours surrounding Philly and a few other teams, mainly St Louis, Anaheim, and Chicago.
There is definitely a large amount of chatter right now in the NHL with a huge amount of "off the record" information coming to me. Much of which is the dreaded "off the record until..." rumour which happens when I am given information but told I can't report on it until a certain time on a certain day.
As one source said this morning, "There are about 6 teams that are teetering on being "out of balance." Essentially teams with too many d-men, too many contracts (along with the salary cap, a team can only sign 50 pro contracts), too many role players, too many centers, no centers, no power play point men, etc."
I will be on top of everything al day long today as I bring the laptop and wireless card to my one parking, two live sport event, double header. I am going to the Philles/Brewers playoff game at 3pm and then walking across the street to the Wachovia (I think it is still called that) Center Press Box to attend the Caps/Flyers pre season match.
The last time I did this was a loooong time ago. I was 13...October 11th, 1981 ( good God)
Both events would turn out to be quite historic.
The baseball game was the deciding Game 5 of the "split season playoffs" where the Montreal Expos defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0. This was the only season in MLB history to have this format. Due to a strike in MLB that caused a huge number of games midseason to be cancelled, the 1981 season was split into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series. It was the first time that Major League Baseball used a split-season format since 1892. (thanks Wikipedia)
So I watched the Expos beat the Phils and then walked across the street and saw a NHL first. Illka Sinisalo became the first player in NHL history to score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot. Illka is now a top scout for the Flyers and a hugely important and respected part of the Flyers front office as could be seen by how close he sat to Paul Holmgren during the draft.
So more to come from Citizen's Bank Park and The Wachovia Center.
I am far from a hockey traditionalist, yet whether or not this is traditional or not doesn't play into it. There are good reasons NOT to name a goalie the Captain.
#1- Added responsibility. Goalies have plenty already. It all ends with the goalie.
#2- No connection to the bench. As the game is going the bench is a living being. You can't skate over during a stoppage and get a proper read and talk to your teammates.
#3- Limited connection to the referees. Throughout the game Captains are always talking to refs, even while the game is ongoing.
#4- Being the "go-between" among the players and the head coach. This may be the biggest reason of all. The soap operas on NHL teams are truly unbelievable in scope. The Captain is the guy who often gets caught in the middle and that isn't easy. Tons of phone calls, players asking what the Captain "is hearing," etc. Goalie prep is way too important.
#5- Dealing with the press right after the game. The Captain is also the first guy in the room who we all look to when we need answers about the game. Goalies need time after games quite often to decompress. If a rogue left wing misses his point assignment but the puck never finds the defender it isn't news. Every mistake a goalie makes, every single move, is analyzed. Now we the press are going to also ask the goalie to talk on the team's problem with their power play. This is not to say that goalies don't get a great view, but they are playing a different game than everyone else on the team.
The reason I bring up #5 is not to overstate us in the press as being so important. The bottom line is being the "official Captain" is not needed for many of these goalies. Currently, I can think of two other teams where the goalie is clearly the captain de facto. Marty Brodeur and Ryan Miller are CLEARLY the Captains of their teams and have been for a while. Brodeur is essentially a coach.
Rumours...
I am still hearing plenty of rumours surrounding Philly and a few other teams, mainly St Louis, Anaheim, and Chicago.
There is definitely a large amount of chatter right now in the NHL with a huge amount of "off the record" information coming to me. Much of which is the dreaded "off the record until..." rumour which happens when I am given information but told I can't report on it until a certain time on a certain day.
As one source said this morning, "There are about 6 teams that are teetering on being "out of balance." Essentially teams with too many d-men, too many contracts (along with the salary cap, a team can only sign 50 pro contracts), too many role players, too many centers, no centers, no power play point men, etc."
I will be on top of everything al day long today as I bring the laptop and wireless card to my one parking, two live sport event, double header. I am going to the Philles/Brewers playoff game at 3pm and then walking across the street to the Wachovia (I think it is still called that) Center Press Box to attend the Caps/Flyers pre season match.
The last time I did this was a loooong time ago. I was 13...October 11th, 1981 ( good God)
Both events would turn out to be quite historic.
The baseball game was the deciding Game 5 of the "split season playoffs" where the Montreal Expos defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0. This was the only season in MLB history to have this format. Due to a strike in MLB that caused a huge number of games midseason to be cancelled, the 1981 season was split into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series. It was the first time that Major League Baseball used a split-season format since 1892. (thanks Wikipedia)
So I watched the Expos beat the Phils and then walked across the street and saw a NHL first. Illka Sinisalo became the first player in NHL history to score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot. Illka is now a top scout for the Flyers and a hugely important and respected part of the Flyers front office as could be seen by how close he sat to Paul Holmgren during the draft.
So more to come from Citizen's Bank Park and The Wachovia Center.
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