RinkRat Oct.7/03
Western Conference Preview
Play-off teams, five through eight.
St. Louis Blues Second, Central Division 41-24-11-6 99pts. 253-222
Lost first round to Vancouver 4-3
Last season the Blues chewed through six goaltenders before settling on Chris Osgoode. Osgoode's play-off performance seldom included big, morale- boosting saves. Instead he provided more of a lift for the Canucks, which isn't how it works. Besides indifferent goaltending the Blues were without defenceman Chris Pronger for the regular season. Luckily rookie Barret Jackman had a Calder- winning year and he and old Al MacInnis were dominating. This team has a well- earned reputation for hard work, grit, and competitive spirit. But in truth St. Louis has been spinning its wheels for four years now. In the 99/00 season they won the President's Trophy (first overall) then collapsed in the first round of the play-offs. They've done little since. Forty-one wins is the lowest number since 98/99. Osgoode is likely to play beneath the level of the team, and key players (MacInnis 40, Mellanby 37, Finley 36, Drake 34) are near the end. Coach Joel Quenneville made the Blues an unwelcome opponent, with hard men such as Keith Tkachuk, Mellanby, Jamal Mayers, and Pronger. Add yappy Tyson Nash and this team could annoy people. Hard to beat, but beatable. General manager Larry Pleau has to provide Quenneville with better players. Bringing in Valeri Bure as a rental was a joke. Players such as Ryan Johnson, Steve Martins, and Martin Rucinsky added little to the team. Unless Larry pleau-s a new furrow the Blues will sink a little deeper this season.
Anaheim Mighty Ducks Second, Pacific Division 40-27-9-6 95pts 203-193
Lost Stanley Cup Final to New Jersey 4-3
Cinderella went to the ball only once. Jersey won the Cup in 1995 and missed the play-offs in 1996; Los Angeles made the final in 1993 then missed the post- season five of the next six years; Vancouver made the finals in 1994 and did nothing until last season. Washington in 1998 and Carolina this past season simply reinforce the point - a great post-season is a guarantee of nothing the next season. These current Ducks are substantially different from last year with the addition of Sergei Federov and Vinny Prospal. Paul Kariya has been subtracted. The team's attitude will be different, the motivational hot buttons of last spring may not light fuses now, and the regular season grind will be harder after last spring's magic. Coach Mike Babcock may have to develop a new approach. Stalward defenceman Keith Carney is on the shelf for a month or more, altering the defence pairings. Todd Simpson (seven seasons, Calgary, Phoenix, Florida) was brought in. He's been on a succession of losing teams and possibily he hasn't the quality a play-off bound team requires. The past few days Federov was practicing with Rob Niedermayer (117 goals, 641games) and Jason Krog (12 goals, 95 games). Surely Federov will tire of these linemates before October becomes November, adding an element of me- first to the dressing room. We could learn much about Babcock's coaching capabilities this season.
Edmonton Oilers Fourth, Northwest Division 36-26-11-9 92pts. 231-230
Lost first round to Dallas 4-2
Edmonton is the Dorian Grey of the NHL - the club grows older yet the players become younger. Edmontonians are caught on a treadmill of perpetual hope even as the team repeatedly banishes filet mignon in favour of peanut butter sandwiches. Succulent steaks such as Wayne Grezky, Paul Coffey, Doug Weight, Anson Carter, Mike Comrie, and Todd Marchant ended up on someone else's plate while sandwiches like Ethan Moreau, Marty Reasoner, Brad Isbister, and Jiri Dopita were offered to hungry ticket buyers. These four scored 29 combined goals last year - Ryan Smyth had 27. Oilers are thin up front what with Marchant's and Comrie's departures. Yet once again there is hope: hotshot Ales Hemsky, 20 years old, with six goals last season, will score often. The authority? Team management. Radek Dvorak came from the Rangers, which means he must be good at something. How about scoring? One teammate thinks he'll be the third-highest scoring Oiler. Right behind Hemsky, of course. Not so fast with the steak sauce, Jason. Dvorak's totals are unimpressive: 604 games, 138 goals. That's 17 goals/season. Rookie Jason Chimera, another hotshot, had 14. That people continue to buy this flim-flam might be because everyone is in on the scam. Also, in January the Oilers are the only game in town.
Minnesota Wild Third, Northwest Division 42-29-10-1 95 pts. 198-178
Lost conference final to Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-0
The Wild were the no-fat Cinderella team last spring. Before being demolished by Anaheim in the conference final, they had moments of greatness too. Retrieving series victories after twice trailing 3-1 in games is remarkable. Defeating the possibly over-confident Colorado Avalanche in overtime, in Denver, is an achievement. Andrew Brunetter scored the series winner, making Patrick Roy look silly from close range. Brunette was the last NHL player to score on Roy. Coach Jacques Lemaire cultivated a lunch-bucket image for his players which they readily bought into. They also bought into his demands, making the Wild a team of few mistakes. Warning bells are already ringing in St. Paul: the all-for-one attitude has developed chinks as winger Pascal Dupuis and hot-shot Marian Gaborik are holding out. There have been no negotiations with Gaborik since June. Dupuis was the team's second best scorer and had a proposal of 1.2 million for two years rejected; GM Risebrough offered 800-thousand for four years. Maybe Dupuis has a point. Minnesota made an odd decision and signed Alexandre Daigle to a contract. They think he can play on the wing, apparently. Off the ice Daigle is a great player, when the puck drops he's a failure. The general manager prefers this stiff to Dupuis. The Wild have a small payroll - 20-million per season, less than half the league average - and the club's attitude won't be lost on the players. Lemaire may have to distance himself from the Daigle/Dupuis decision and others (no significant roster moves) so that he can reach his players. The Rat thinks he'll succeed and Minnesota lands the number eight spot.
Western Conference Preview
Play-off teams, five through eight.
St. Louis Blues Second, Central Division 41-24-11-6 99pts. 253-222
Lost first round to Vancouver 4-3
Last season the Blues chewed through six goaltenders before settling on Chris Osgoode. Osgoode's play-off performance seldom included big, morale- boosting saves. Instead he provided more of a lift for the Canucks, which isn't how it works. Besides indifferent goaltending the Blues were without defenceman Chris Pronger for the regular season. Luckily rookie Barret Jackman had a Calder- winning year and he and old Al MacInnis were dominating. This team has a well- earned reputation for hard work, grit, and competitive spirit. But in truth St. Louis has been spinning its wheels for four years now. In the 99/00 season they won the President's Trophy (first overall) then collapsed in the first round of the play-offs. They've done little since. Forty-one wins is the lowest number since 98/99. Osgoode is likely to play beneath the level of the team, and key players (MacInnis 40, Mellanby 37, Finley 36, Drake 34) are near the end. Coach Joel Quenneville made the Blues an unwelcome opponent, with hard men such as Keith Tkachuk, Mellanby, Jamal Mayers, and Pronger. Add yappy Tyson Nash and this team could annoy people. Hard to beat, but beatable. General manager Larry Pleau has to provide Quenneville with better players. Bringing in Valeri Bure as a rental was a joke. Players such as Ryan Johnson, Steve Martins, and Martin Rucinsky added little to the team. Unless Larry pleau-s a new furrow the Blues will sink a little deeper this season.
Anaheim Mighty Ducks Second, Pacific Division 40-27-9-6 95pts 203-193
Lost Stanley Cup Final to New Jersey 4-3
Cinderella went to the ball only once. Jersey won the Cup in 1995 and missed the play-offs in 1996; Los Angeles made the final in 1993 then missed the post- season five of the next six years; Vancouver made the finals in 1994 and did nothing until last season. Washington in 1998 and Carolina this past season simply reinforce the point - a great post-season is a guarantee of nothing the next season. These current Ducks are substantially different from last year with the addition of Sergei Federov and Vinny Prospal. Paul Kariya has been subtracted. The team's attitude will be different, the motivational hot buttons of last spring may not light fuses now, and the regular season grind will be harder after last spring's magic. Coach Mike Babcock may have to develop a new approach. Stalward defenceman Keith Carney is on the shelf for a month or more, altering the defence pairings. Todd Simpson (seven seasons, Calgary, Phoenix, Florida) was brought in. He's been on a succession of losing teams and possibily he hasn't the quality a play-off bound team requires. The past few days Federov was practicing with Rob Niedermayer (117 goals, 641games) and Jason Krog (12 goals, 95 games). Surely Federov will tire of these linemates before October becomes November, adding an element of me- first to the dressing room. We could learn much about Babcock's coaching capabilities this season.
Edmonton Oilers Fourth, Northwest Division 36-26-11-9 92pts. 231-230
Lost first round to Dallas 4-2
Edmonton is the Dorian Grey of the NHL - the club grows older yet the players become younger. Edmontonians are caught on a treadmill of perpetual hope even as the team repeatedly banishes filet mignon in favour of peanut butter sandwiches. Succulent steaks such as Wayne Grezky, Paul Coffey, Doug Weight, Anson Carter, Mike Comrie, and Todd Marchant ended up on someone else's plate while sandwiches like Ethan Moreau, Marty Reasoner, Brad Isbister, and Jiri Dopita were offered to hungry ticket buyers. These four scored 29 combined goals last year - Ryan Smyth had 27. Oilers are thin up front what with Marchant's and Comrie's departures. Yet once again there is hope: hotshot Ales Hemsky, 20 years old, with six goals last season, will score often. The authority? Team management. Radek Dvorak came from the Rangers, which means he must be good at something. How about scoring? One teammate thinks he'll be the third-highest scoring Oiler. Right behind Hemsky, of course. Not so fast with the steak sauce, Jason. Dvorak's totals are unimpressive: 604 games, 138 goals. That's 17 goals/season. Rookie Jason Chimera, another hotshot, had 14. That people continue to buy this flim-flam might be because everyone is in on the scam. Also, in January the Oilers are the only game in town.
Minnesota Wild Third, Northwest Division 42-29-10-1 95 pts. 198-178
Lost conference final to Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-0
The Wild were the no-fat Cinderella team last spring. Before being demolished by Anaheim in the conference final, they had moments of greatness too. Retrieving series victories after twice trailing 3-1 in games is remarkable. Defeating the possibly over-confident Colorado Avalanche in overtime, in Denver, is an achievement. Andrew Brunetter scored the series winner, making Patrick Roy look silly from close range. Brunette was the last NHL player to score on Roy. Coach Jacques Lemaire cultivated a lunch-bucket image for his players which they readily bought into. They also bought into his demands, making the Wild a team of few mistakes. Warning bells are already ringing in St. Paul: the all-for-one attitude has developed chinks as winger Pascal Dupuis and hot-shot Marian Gaborik are holding out. There have been no negotiations with Gaborik since June. Dupuis was the team's second best scorer and had a proposal of 1.2 million for two years rejected; GM Risebrough offered 800-thousand for four years. Maybe Dupuis has a point. Minnesota made an odd decision and signed Alexandre Daigle to a contract. They think he can play on the wing, apparently. Off the ice Daigle is a great player, when the puck drops he's a failure. The general manager prefers this stiff to Dupuis. The Wild have a small payroll - 20-million per season, less than half the league average - and the club's attitude won't be lost on the players. Lemaire may have to distance himself from the Daigle/Dupuis decision and others (no significant roster moves) so that he can reach his players. The Rat thinks he'll succeed and Minnesota lands the number eight spot.
