With the Coyotes off until tomorrow, and the Olympics making it seem weird that there’s two days in a row without a game, I thought I’d bring you some random thoughts mostly centering on the Coyotes, but also from around the league. Here goes:
-Nice little profile piece on Oliver Ekman-Larsson from Coyotes reporter Sarah McLellan, one of, if not the best Coyotes reporter there is. OEL deserves all the attention he can get, so check it out.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/20140202phoenix-coyotes-oliver-ekmanlarsson-willing-to-scrap.html
If we are discussing the Norris Trophy, OEL needs to be in the conversation. Look at all the game’s high scoring D-men: Keith, Subban, Karlson, Letang and not one of them is as good without the puck as Ekmen-Larsson. I’ll say it until he is rewarded with some hardware: if he played for almost any other team, he’d be one of the most famous players in the league.
- Coyotes CEO Anthony Leblanc at the ‘Town Hall Meeting’ last week said there might be uniform changes in the future, but not the logo: “We think it’s the best damn logo in the league.… It’s true. Other than that though, it was the kind of politically correct, nearly scripted answers you would expect. They aren’t giving up on the season, they think they are competitive, they want an outdoor game, they’d like to improve the roster etc. No surprises.
- Congrats are in order for Max Domi, the OHL player of the week. Domi potentially gives the Coyotes the potential top flight forward they are desperately in need of. Interestingly, his dad, Tie Domi, played the Coyotes back when they were called the Jets.
- Some kind of student rush thing going on tomorrow for the Coyotes game vs. Dallas. $25 if you’re a student, any seat apparently. Can’t beat that.
-If there is any truth to the rumor that Vanek turned town down 50 million over seven years, the Islanders should be thanking him. Seven Million per, for Vanek? He’s already thirty. Someone probably gives it to him, but I’d pass.
- My five year old daughter on chicken wings: “Try one of those bad-boys. They will burn your face off, man.… I don’t know if that comes across as funny as it was in real life, but whatever, I laughed.
- Looks like Steven Stamkos might be back on Saturday. This is great for the NHL and for the Canadian Olympic team. However, if he’s putting himself at risk just to play for Canada, I don’t think that’s a good thing. Loyalty has to go to the team that pays you.
-Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs was named the second star in the NHL for both the week and the month. Seems laughable now that people mocked Brian Burke so badly for what he gave up for him. I remember being the only person I knew who defended the trade at the time. (You’ll just have to take my word for it). In retrospect, Phil Kessel for Tyler Seguin is a trade exactly no one would make today. Who would have predicted that Kessel would become better than Ovechkin and one of the top five forwards in the NHL? Long criticized for his lack of consistency, Kessel sits second in goals and fourth in points in the scoring race. Last year he was 8th in scoring and the year before that he was 6th. That’s pretty consistent. Oh, and he plays defense now too.
In retrospect, it seems hilarious that I mocked my friend Gerry when he selected Kessel sixth overall in our fantasy draft this year and left me to take Giroux at seventh. Giroux has been great since December, but his slow start killed my chances.
- Proving anything is possible, the Calgary Flames have won five in a row. With Burke in charge I am sure they are on their way back to respectability. Personally speaking, I would love to have seen Burke running the Coyotes.
- New York is taking a lot of flak for playing hardball with Ryan Callahan. Hard to pick a side here because on one hand, when Callahan sees the money going to guys like David Clarkson, he has to be thinking that he’s worth at least that much. Then, from New York’s perspective, not wanting to allocate seven million per year for a guy who barely scores and whose value lies outside the realm of goals and assists is also perfectly understandable.
My take is that team’s make so many stupid deals every July first that it makes no sense that they play hardball with their best players for the other 364 days of the year. Whether it’s Clarkson, Leino, Richards or Ehrhoff, every year there are deals you just know are bad the day they are signed. Since the Rangers are more than likely going to waste cap space by overpaying for the next decent UFA (I can just see them signing Vanek for nine million!) I say just pay Callahan and don’t rip your team apart over an amount of money you’re going to waste anyways.
- Finally, I don’t know if this is true, but Florida blogger Dan Spiegel mentioned earlier in the week that Eric Gudbranson has been a healthy scratch and may be available in a trade. I know the Coyotes are pretty stocked on the back-end, but I have been a fan of Gudbranson ever since the year he played on the World Junior Canadian team back in 2010 and I think that his physical presence is something the Coyotes could use. I know it would cost a ton to get him and that defense is not an immediate need, but this is a guy who could star in the NHL for years and there is no such thing as too many good defenseman. The Panthers would be insane to trade him, in my opinion.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
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