Stan Fischler offers New Year's resolutions to NHLers, shares Part 2 of an interview with Mike Emrick and Part 1 of the top 10 European-born players and more.
SIX THOUGHTS TO WELCOME THE NEW YEAR
1. Alex Ovechkin doesn’t know when to stop, does he? Another hat trick, this time Saturday night against the Habs. What a man. What a guy!
2. The Oilers and their 2-1 loss to Winnipeg on Saturday night reaffirmed the equation: when Lord McDavid doesn’t score, Edmonton doesn’t win.
3. If Luke Hughes continues starring for Team USA in the world juniors – then the Devils just might want to align him with his starry brother, Jack, this season.
4. You ask Bruce Boudreau a question, and you get a straight, honest answer. Not just “hard work.”
5. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if just one week went by without a Jakob Chychrun trade rumor? OK, make it four days!
6. Leafs’ 1960s leader, Punch Imlach, liked to say that the NHL season really starts now, in January. Punch must have known something – he won four Cups.
HALL OF FAME BROADCASTER DOC EMRICK’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
(PART 2) Questioned by our Irad Chen, the inimitable Mike discusses such fascinating topics as his best calls as well as memorable Cup finals.
RECALLING CALLS HE MADE
“I don’t have any particular favorite calls, but one where I got lucky was a Washington-Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. Jay Beagle was chasing the puck down in the corner, and James Sheppard of the Rangers was challenging him for the puck. It occurred in February, and I said something like, ‘Beagle and Sheppard are going after the puck, and this is where the Westminster Kennel Club had its annual show just last week,’ Eddie O laughed out loud because he’s a dog owner. It was just a convergence of facts, and it happened to fit the moment, so I threw it in.
“Another game that was a favorite memory, and was a lucky set of circumstances for me, was after the celebration of T.J. Oshie’s shootout-winner versus Russia in the 2014 Olympics. During the handshake line, I said, ‘They paid their rubles to see the home team win. But not this game. Not tonight.’ The last six words are from Herb Brooks’ speech to the US team in Lake Placid before the game with the Soviets.
“But the thing that I would be more proud of is not saying anything. When Justin Williams scored into the empty net to seal up Carolina’s Game 7 win over Edmonton in 2006, I said nothing after I said ‘score,’ and then just let the crowd carry it. Or when Crosby scored the golden goal for Canada in the 2010 Olympics and I said, ‘the gold medal to Canada.’ I was silent for about a minute because that’s when the artist behind cameras and the producers and directors do their things and you don’t need to say anything – the picture does the work.”
MEMORABLE PLAYOFFS SERIES
“There’s been so many, but two have stood out most not due to hockey related stuff but because they didn’t involve airplanes and we could drive to the games: the 2008 and ’09 finals between Pittsburgh and Detroit. Usually the finals are East against West, it’s changing time zones and getting on an aircraft, but how unique to just take a shuttle bus, all the crew together, like we did with NBC. Those memories have nothing to do with how dramatic the series were. Both series went long and both won by the visiting team. We also noticed that in both cities, the fans stayed to watch the Cup being presented even though their home teams didn’t win it.”
(On Friday – we present the third and final segment of this wonderful Doc Emrick series. Mike will compare today’s game with those of yesteryear and also analyze Sidney Crosby’s body of work, among other fascinating points. Don’t miss it.)
CUT-RATE, DAY-OLD, NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS, PLUS RESULTS
The Maven’s fictitious Thought-Recording Machine has been well-oiled and works once a year. That is, right now, with well-tested results. Check out the resolutions and perhaps find a laugh or two.
ALL 32 NHL COACHES: Resolve never to yell at a referee. Shelf Life of Resolution: Maximum, for two periods, Jan. 3. Minimum: The next bad call tonight.
JOHN TORTORELLA: Resolve not to get angry with Kevin Hayes if he forgets to backcheck. Shelf Life of Resolution: The next goal scored against Hayes’ line.
CONNOR MCDAVID: Resolve not to get upset at any critic who says he doesn’t backcheck. Shelf Life of Resolution: Good through the regular season. Ends when Calgary eliminates Edmonton in the playoffs.
AUSTON MATTHEWS: Resolve to not comment on any questions related to his long-term future in Toronto. Shelf Life of Resolution: Good until the proposed Tempe (Arizona) Arena is finished and the Coyotes sign Matthews as a free agent.
BARRY TROTZ: Resolve to take care of family business first. Then, we’ll see what happens. Shelf Life of Resolution: Until an appealing job behind a bench – or front office gig comes along.
ALEX OVECHKIN: Resolve to have more fun helping his teammates win games and to score as many goals as he can. Shelf Life of Resolution: Until he breaks Wayne Gretzky’s record. Which he will!
BUTTERFLY GOALIES: Resolve not to let anyone score on shots above my shoulders. Shelf Life of Resolution: The next power play.
THAT WAS THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:
FRIDAY: The Devils halt their skid with a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh. The kids – Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier – outplayed veterans Crosby and Malkin. The Metro race remains unpredictable.
SATURDAY: Winnipeg, minus seven players, still beats Edmonton.
SUNDAY: Ottawa’s 3-1 win over Buffalo proves there’s still life in the Senators, if not a buyer.
MONDAY: The game to watch is the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park. This is the annual game not to be missed no matter where it’s played. Considering the Bruins’ excellence, Beantown is the perfect place this year.
I’M JUST SAYIN’
* Sean O’Leary of The Score picked his top 10 Players of 2022, with Cale Makar in first place and McDavid as the runner-up. Fair enough. Nowhere do I see the ‘Great Eight,’ though.
* As senior citizen backup goalies go, you’ve got to like how Antti Raanta’s helping the Canes to a captivating year.
* Just don’t count on him in the playoffs. The Rangers counted on him failing last spring, and he did.
* If Boston is the steamroller team in the East, then Portland’s Winterhawks (26-4-2-1) is the West’s best on any level.
* Does anyone – besides The Maven – care that Andre Tourigny is doing a sweetheart of a job coaching the Coyotes?
* Arizona’s favorite NHL team is fast becoming the Sabres of the West.
* It seems that whenever MacKenzie Weegar hits Connor That Guy McDavid, it becomes a federal case of “Dirty Or Not?”
* Alex Lafreniere was the overwhelming top pick of his draft. Which means a ton was expected of him. That’s the way it goes. So far, the Rangers are getting ounces, not a ton.
* One of the alleged factors behind Big Al’s failures is that he “has no identity.”
* Of course, Lafreniere could get “an identity” if he played like Detroit’s Lucas Raymond or Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle. Both were picked after him in the draft.
LETTERS: ABOUT OVI, TROTZ, JASON ROBERTSON AND OTHERS
Author, journalist and former NHL.com editor John Kreiser writes from the Southland, where he’s relaxing in semi-retirement. As always, Savant Kreiser delivers some insightful ideas. Check them out:
I can’t figure out why Florida dumped Brunette after winning the Presidents’ Trophy or after getting dumped in the second round by Tampa Bay (largely because of Vasilevskiy).
Watch out for the Sabres, who are having a lot of fun playing under Don Granato.
Alex Ovechkin is a marvel. I give him a good chance to pass Gretzky. Kudos to Barry Trotz for teaching him how to play adequate defense without sacrificing offense, and to Peter Laviolette for putting him in situations where he is most likely to succeed.
I love to watch Ovi (BTW: That’s the way the Caps told us he wanted when I started working at NHL.com), because even after 800-plus goals, he still gets as big a kick out of scoring now and just as he did when he got that first goal all those years ago. He was fun to watch as a kid, and he’s still fun now as a grey-haired “old” man.
I agree that the Howe family’s embrace of Ovi’s accomplishment was heart-warming. I believe that, and more than any other sport, hockey players and teams embrace the stars who came before them.
Jason Robertson has quietly become a terrific player. And good for the Stars to sign him long-term. His line (with Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz) gets little attention, but they are awfully hard to stop. Robertson has more help than McDavid, who, to my eye, looks more and more frustrated as his team struggles. He’s in his prime now, and the Oilers aren’t capitalizing on it.
EXCLUSIVE: THE ALL-TIME DOZEN EUROPEAN ALL-STARS (PART 1)
With so many European virtuosos sprinkled over NHL teams, Our resident genius, Al Greenberg, picks his delightful dozen. If you don’t agree – The Maven doesn’t – go argue with him.
This is bound to elicit controversy because we are selecting players who played at different times and in different circumstances. In some cases, they never played in the NHL or had their best years elsewhere. Given the vast number of outstanding European-born players, there are omissions – no disrespect intended.
For instance, I omitted Stan Mikita, a Hall of Fame player who was born in Czechoslovakia, only because he learned his hockey while growing up in Canada.
At the same time, I included both Valeri Kharlamov and Vladislav Tretiak, who were the best at their craft but were born too early to play in the NHL.
The “Top 10” soon became the “Top 12.”
12. Valeri Kharlamov – He never played in the NHL but dominated Russian hockey in the 1970s. Fast and creative, he played in 11 World Championships and three Olympics. He first came to the attention of North American hockey viewers during the 1972 Summit Series. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as multiple other international honor groups.
11. Vladislav Tretiak – Considered one of the greatest goalies of all time, he too earned his notoriety playing in Russia during the 1970s. Three Olympic gold medals representing the Soviet Union and 10 World Championship golds. In 16 seasons with the Red Army team, he compiled a 2.21 goals-against average. He, too, was discovered by North America during the 1972 Summit Series.
10. Alexander Mogilny – He won Olympic gold, World Championship gold and a Stanley Cup. He had an outstanding international career before becoming the first Russian draftee to defect to North America. He was the first Russian team captain (Buffalo). He trails only Alexander Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov in goals scored by a Russian player. He scored 76 goals in 77 games for Buffalo in 1992-93 and scored 1,032 points in 990 NHL career games. Not in the Hall – but definite HOF credentials.
9. Pavel Bure – ‘The Russian Rocket’ – A pure goal scorer if there ever was one and had electrifying speed. Sixth all-time for goals per game in the NHL. Despite knee problems limiting his career to 702 NHL games (437-342-779), he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.
(Part 2 on Friday.)
WHO SAID IT? “Once we get you to the arena, we got you!”
(ANSWER BELOW.)
BIG QUESTION: Who’s the best in the East, Boston or Carolina?
BIG ANSWER: The Bruins because they are stronger, 1-2 in goal.
THIS PROVES THAT YOU CAN’T WRITE ENOUGH MCDAVID STUFF
Our Glenn Dreyfuss was in attendance when Connor McDavid recorded the eighth five-point game of his career on Dec. 30 in Seattle. Glenn reports that only the music in the Edmonton dressing room was as loud as the praise for their superstar center.
That increasingly small figure in the distance is Connor McDavid – skating away with the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies – and maybe the Hart and Ted Lindsay, too.
McDavid became the first player in 27 years to reach 70 points by New Year’s Day. Opponents are running short of ways to stop him, and his coach is running short of ways to describe him.
“What he’s doing, we should all realize is quite special,” said second-year Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft. “I’m running out of adjectives or analogies. He’s doing something that the league hasn’t seen for a very long time.”
McDavid, in his eighth NHL season, revealed a change to his mindset that may help him snag the goal-scoring title for the first time.
“Something I’ve learned throughout my career, you have to be a little bit selfish. There’s times to set guys up, and times to call your own number.” So says the man leading the league in assists.
Connor’s teammates are happily taking musical advice from Peggy March’s 1963 hit, “I Will Follow Him.”
As fellow first-overall draft pick (2011) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins says, “He’s definitely our leader, emotionally and on the ice. We kind of follow his lead and rally behind him.”
Added Woodcroft, “His teammates and coaches are privy to the work that gets put in. Media and fans get to see the end result on the ice. What impresses me is how the best player in the world goes to work, is committed to doing little things to help the team win. It’s special.”
YAYS AND BOOS:
YAY TO SIDNEY CROSBY for being named to The Order of Canada.
BOO TO JACK CAMPBELL’S new set of pads that failed to get him a win (15 saves for Soupy) on Saturday night against Connor (31 saves) Hellebuyck, wearing old pads.
HOW A JUNIOR GOALIE MADE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
In the second of three stories about the first games a Russian team ever played on Canadian soil, Glenn Dreyfuss writes about surprise Whitby Dunlop goalie, Carl Wetzel.
Canadian viewers on Nov. 22, 1957, were alerted that they were about to see “a special telecast of the Russia-Canada hockey game.” The host team was actually the Dunlops, an OHA senior league team.
These facts made it quite remarkable that junior league goalie, Carl Wetzel, wound up between the pipes for the Dunnies. First, he wasn’t a member of the Whitby team. Second, the Detroit native wasn’t Canadian. Third, because Wetzel was 18 – 14 years younger than player-coach Sid Smith, a former Maple Leafs captain. Wetzel hadn’t even put on goalie pads for the first time until he was 15.
Yet because regular Dunlop goalie John Henderson suffered a knee injury in practice, there was Carl leading the team onto the ice at Maple Leaf Gardens.
“In the dressing room was the first time I’d met any of the players,” Carl recalled in a Hockey Time Machine interview. “The one saving grace was that they were a great bunch of guys.”
Whitby won the historic match-up, 7-2. I reminded Carl that after allowing two quick goals, he shut the door on the Moscow Selects for the last 55 minutes.
“The last 57 minutes and 10 seconds,” he corrected me with a smile. As a teenager, he was also shut out of the Dunnies’ post-game party. “Wherever they went to celebrate, I didn’t go with them. I just went back to the hotel room and got some sleep before I went back to Hamilton.”
Wetzel, in 1965-66, spent 10 games as a backup with the Canadiens when Gump Worsley was injured. “This was the first season that teams had to have two goalies dressed,” Carl said. Wetzel’s misfortune was that Charlie Hodge didn’t lose any of those 10 games. “If you were in net and you won or tied, you played the next night.”
Goalies tightly guarded their nets in those days in more ways than one. Carl recalled being the Red Wings’ backup for a playoff game:
“Glenn Hall took a shot below his nose, needed 42 stitches and lost four teeth. They held up the game 45 minutes to stitch him up, and then he went back into the net. Glenn got his job when (Terry) Sawchuk got hurt. Sawchuk got his job when Harry Lumley was traded. Guys played sick, hurt, if they could possibly get out there.”
(In the final story of the series, Glenn shares his conversation with the Whitby Dunlops captain – Harry Sinden.)
ANSWER TO WHO SAID IT? When Phil Esposito was GM of the Lightning, he was explaining how it only took one visit for a new fan to get hooked on hockey.