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Rathje’s Mantra: ‘No Goals Against’ - Jan. 18, 2002 – Vol. 55, Issue. 19 - Mike Brophy
Dean Lombardi was making his way around the Savvis Center in St. Louis back in early November when he happened upon Blues’ power forward Keith Tkachuk.
“Did you guys sign Mike Rathje yet?” Tkachuk asked the San Jose Sharks’ GM.
“No, not yet,” Lombardi said.
“Good,” responded Tkachuk, “I hate playing against that big #$%*&@#,”
Those words were music to Lombardi’s ears, even if he was locked in a contract dispute with the 6-foot-5, 235-pound defenseman at the time they were spoken. When it comes to the AllStar Game or Norris Trophy, Rathje hasn’t received much respect from voters. But ask any NHL forward whom they think is the league’s toughest defender and Rathje is right near the top of the list. If Rathje is not the NHL’s most underrated defenseman, he’s damn close.
“He’s mentally tough,” Lombardi said. “He may not get the credit he deserves from fans, but he gets it from hockey people, from people who know and understand the game. Ask the top players in the game how good he is, they’ll tell you. He doesn’t go for the big hit, but when he ties you up, the play stops.”
Rathje was one of several big-name restricted free agents who began the season on the sidelines, unable to come to terms. Because he was restricted, there wasn’t really any chance of his being offered a contract by another club. The team signing him would have to surrender up to five first round draft picks, and that just doesn’t happen in today’s NHL. So he figured he was in for a long wait.
The wait ended when the 27-year-old native of Mannville, Alta., signed a four-year., $8.25-million deal Nov. 29 and returned to San Jose’s lineup Dec. 8. The Sharks, who had just five wins in their previous 13 outings, immediately went on a five-game winning streak.
“He’s a tough guy to play against,” said Sharks’ center Mike Ricci. “He’s so big and he can really skate. He wears guys down.”
There was a short period of time during his contract stalemate when Rathje thought he might wind up playing for a team other than the Sharks this season. He readily admits to growing very frustrated as the season progressed and he was reduced to working out with a friend in Vancouver in an effort to “stay in half-decent shape.”
“I knew it would be long,” Rathje said, “but the longer it goes, the more frustrated you become. There was a point where I got a little heated up and pissed off and told my agent, ‘If they don’t want to pay me, then tell them to trade me.’ It was a relief when we finally got it done. I have been through a lot with this team. To have been traded would have sucked.”
Rathje’s job is simple - to try to shut down the opposition’s top line. Considering his task, the fact he was plus-3 through his first 11 games tells you all you need to know about the man with the good wheels and massive wingspan. He goes about his business matter-of-factly, aware that he will often go unnoticed if he is doing his job well.
“I’m not looking for glory,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me that people don’t talk about me. What is important is winning and having my teammates and the people I work for appreciate what I do.”
Rathje was a two-way threat in junior when he had back-to-back years of 11 and 12 goals with Medicine Hat of the Western League. In the NHL, though, he is predominantly a defensive performer. In 457 career NHL games entering this season, the third overall pick in the 1992 entry draft had 13 goals and 90 points. Rathje does believe he can step up his offense a bit, but not at the expense of his bread-and-butter defense.
“When you come into this league, it takes a while for you to find your role,” he said. “You want to develop something in your game that will keep you around. I concentrated on being a defensive player, but now I think it’s time to expand my role a bit.”
In that regard, Rathje has enjoyed some power play duty this season, though his average ice time was down to 20:38 from 22:11 last year. He’ll likely see more ice as he gets back in game shape.
As for San Jose, there are definitely high expectations for a team that ranked ninth in payroll prior to Rathje’s signing. The Sharks have improved in points in each of the past five seasons, but playoff success - beyond the first round upset of St. Louis in 1999-2000 - has eluded them.
The team leans heavily on veterans such as captain Owen Nolan, Ricci, Vincent Damphousse, Gary Suter and Adam Graves, but Rathje said it might be the Sharks’ youngsters that hold the keys to any post-season success.
“If our kids, like (Brad) Stuart, (Patrick) Marleau, (Scott) Hannan and (Marco) Sturm step it up, then we can make some noise in the playoffs,” Rathje said.
Maybe then the rest of the hockey world will find out just how good Mike Rathje really is.
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