To The Fans of the Winnipeg Jets

I’m a Winnipegger.  Born there, raised there, and, until recently, had lived there my entire life.  The only live NHL game I have ever been to was around Christmas in 1996 — the visiting Chicago Blackhawks losing to the Jets.  I was, and still am, a Blackhawks fan and when the first brand of Jets went south to Phoenix, it didn’t hit me that hard.  I was seven-years-old, far more concerned with figuring out mathematics and when I could bring out the toboggan.  With fifteen years of support for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose after the Jets departed, I grew up knowing that Winnipeg is a hockey city — not by being told, but from experiencing it first hand.

The buzz surrounding the Jets return isn't contained to just Winnipeg (Photo by Andre Ringuette for the NHL via Getty Images)

I’ve written about this before on this blog, but I woke up late the day they came back.  In a move that is very uncharacteristic of myself, I called in sick to work — a lie — and headed down to the Portage and Main, followed by a walk to the Forks.  The NHL was back.  The city was absolutely buzzing; it still is.  It was something I had never experienced in Winnipeg.

Lost within the buzz was the reality of what was coming to Winnipeg.

On Fighting

Since I have been a fan of the game, I have been a fan of fighting.

We learned of it from video games, from Don Cherry’s Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em tapes, and from watching the warriors on the ice.  It was part of the game, it was part of the violence, it was part of what made it the toughest game on earth in a fans eyes.  There was nothing like it in any other sport, and maybe that is part of what drew us to it as fans.

The great Ken Dryden with a sprawling save on Jerry Korab

Weeks back — nearly three to be exact — Ken Dryden lent his vast knowledge of the game, and knowledge in general, to the project that Bill Simmons et al have taken up over at Grantland.  The article is not only a great piece of writing, something we have come to expect from Dryden, but astonishing in its ability to bring to light the issues we face today from someone who was present during expansion-era NHL play.  While many of the “old school”-ers from years passed would be reluctant to speak out on the issue, often chalking up the rough play to, “the way the game is,” Dryden faces the issues head on and takes a stand voicing the need for change.

CDL Season Preview Series: Columbus Blue Jackets

The Cycle Down Low Season Preview is a feature where we look at the chances for your favourite team in the 2011-2012 NHL campaign.  AND WE’RE GOING TO VEGAS!  With the new season upon us, a mere 30 days away, the CDL Season Preview Series will take you right up to game one of the new season.  Is this the year they surprise everyone and take the Cup?  Are the great expectations placed upon them too much?  Here you’ll get the scoop on what is to come for every team from both the Eastern and Western Conferences.  The breakdown will list the teams in six categories: Stanley Cup Odds (the actual odds from Bodog.ca and a breakdown of what you can expect), Lock (the best bet or biggest star on the team), Upset (the bust or player that won’t preform as well as many think), Pit Bosses (front office), Payout (the overall summary of the team), and CDL Bet (our bet at what the results will be for the team this year).

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STANLEY CUP ODDS: 75/1

In 2009, the Columbus Blue Jackets became the last of the four expansion teams to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The 8th place finish, however, set them up for a battle against the ever powerful Detroit Red Wings.  The Wings, the Western Conference’s top ranked squad, made quick work of the Jackets defeating them in four games, sweeping the series and sending Ohio’s NHL franchise packing.

However, for Jackets fans it seemed their fate was about to change.  Rookie goaltender Steve Mason played outstanding, carrying a heavy workload between the pipes for the Jackets.  Mason’s record of 33-20-7 with 10 shutouts was enough to earn him the Calder Trophy and a Vezina Trophy nomination.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have only tasted the playoffs once. Could this year be a possibility?

If there can be anything said about the Jackets up until that point, it was that their weakest position was easily goaltending and now they had a legitimate starter.

But, as is often the case, the sophomore slump hit Mason hard.  Since his breakout season in his rookie campaign, he has been unable to recapture that magic.  In the last two years, his combined record has been 44-47-16 with a .901SV% and GAA over 3.00, a far cry from the .916SV% and 2.29 GAA he posted in his first season.

To go along with the Jackets inability to remain stable in goal, they were forever searching for a legitimate top-line center to play along perennial all-star Rick Nash.

Nash, the Jackets first round pick — first overall in his draft year — in 2002, has been the face of the franchise since his arrival.  With a combination of size, speed, and strength, Nash is the prototypical power forward.  Think Eric Lindros without the concussion or injury issues, and you have Nash.

It is because of Nash that the Jackets are ever even spoken in the same breath as contenders, but with hockey being the ultimate team game that it is, it is impossible and improbable to believe that Nash himself could carry this team to a championship.

Bringing in the likes Antoine Vermette, Kristian Huselius, R.J. Umberger, and with Scott Howson’s smart drafting and the blossoming of top draft pick Derrick Brassard, the Jackets seem to have begun to take that turn towards consistent competitiveness.  But are they there quite yet?

CDL Season Preview Series: Florida Panthers

The Cycle Down Low Season Preview is a feature where we look at the chances for your favourite team in the 2011-2012 NHL campaign.  AND WE’RE GOING TO VEGAS!  With the new season upon us, a mere 30 days away, the CDL Season Preview Series will take you right up to game one of the new season.  Is this the year they surprise everyone and take the Cup?  Are the great expectations placed upon them too much?  Here you’ll get the scoop on what is to come for every team from both the Eastern and Western Conferences.  The breakdown will list the teams in six categories: Stanley Cup Odds (the actual odds from Bodog.ca and a breakdown of what you can expect), Lock (the best bet or biggest star on the team), Upset (the bust or player that won’t preform as well as many think), Pit Bosses (front office), Payout (the overall summary of the team), and CDL Bet (our bet at what the results will be for the team this year).

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STANLEY CUP ODDS: 75/1

Out with the old, in with the new.  Quite literally, that’s the way things seem to be going in Florida.

After years of the Panthers continuing their playoff drought — now reaching the decade mark — the Panthers have gone ahead and cleaned house.  Randy Sexton, the team’s GM in 2009-10, was let go and Dale Tallon, seen by many as the architect behind the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup winning team, was brought in.  This summer Peter DeBoer was let go after three full seasons as the team’s coach and replaced with former NHLer and coach of the AHL’s Portland Pirates, Kevin Dineen.

With the front office and bench boss positions filled, the re-shaping of the Florida Panthers began.  After trading away Nathan Horton, Gregory Campbell, and Keith Ballard, the Panthers went into the year knowing it was going to be one of those years.  The team struggled from nearly the opening faceoff.

Scoring was a struggle all season with the Panthers managing a measly 2.33 goals a game, good enough for — Oh, I don’t know — 28th in the league?  If that wasn’t enough, it seemed like every move Tallon made to add scoring fell flat on its face.  A trade for Niclas Bergfors, who was at one time a key piece in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal, didn’t quite work out as Tallon would have hoped as the talented prospect failed to get anything going and would register a measly seven points (1-6) in 20 appearances with the Cats.

It wasn’t only Bergfors that struggled, either.

Tallon would make a plethora of moves up front to make the offense blossom, but nothing would click.  Jack Skille’s 13 games in Florida were good for two points, off-season acquistion Steve Bernier only put up 15 points in 68 games, and even those he could count on regressed as Stephen Weiss’ point totals dipped after to two consecutive years at 60+ to 49 (21-28).

Not only were things going wrong on the ice, off the ice there was just as much negativity surrounding the team.

For the past several years the only redeeming factor for the Panthers has been their undeniable all-star between the pipes, Tomas Vokoun.  The clear cut team MVP year in and year out since his arrival in 2007-08, Vokoun has never posted a save percentage below .919 in a Panthers uniform, and it was clear what Florida’s intentions were: sign him, and sign him long-term.

As rumours continued to swirl about the back and forth, it became clear that there was very little chance Vokoun would be back in a Florida jersey, and the bad news seemed like it didn’t stop there for Panthers fans.

Just before the trade deadline rumours were sparked that Dale Tallon had made his voice heard about blowing up the entire roster and starting fresh, stating that there were almost no untouchables on the team.  Stephen Weiss, he was looking at you.  For weeks, even months, there was speculation about the chances of Weiss being moved, but nothing ever seemed to happen.  It was not until the trade deadline came and passed that people stopped the speculation about Weiss’ future with the team.All in all 2010-2011 was a year to forget for the Panthers.  Matter of fact most of the past ten years have been that way, but is there some light at the end of the tunnel?

Maybe, but it may very well just be a train.

Tragedy in the KHL: Plane Carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Crashes

Today, September 7th, 2011, will forever be associated with one of the great sports, and human, tragedies of all-time.

A Russian airline, carrying the entirety of the Russian hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl including four members of their junior squad Loko, crashed after reportedly catching fire just four kilometers after takeoff.  The crash, happening on the teams departure from Tunosjno Airport, is said to have claimed to the lives of all but two aboard the plane.

Of the confirmed deaths are ex-NHLers Brad McCrimmon, Pavol Demitra, Karel Rachunek and Ruslan Salei.  Also aboard the flight, and tragically confirmed dead, was New Jersey Devils prospect Alexander Vasyunov.

The crash site of a Yak-42 which was carrying members of the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (AP Photo)

Reports from Slava Malamud (@slavamalamud) stated that Alexander Galimov, who survived the initial crash, was taken to hospital after suffering third-degree burns to 80% of his body.  His injuries are said to make his chances of living very slim, but he continues to fight for his life in hospital.

Russia Today, which has been doing an incredible job of covering the story today, have confirmed that 45 passengers were aboard and it is believed that 43 have died.  It is unclear what the full condition the other survivor, a plane engineer, is in at this time and whether the injuries suffered could be fatal.  All that is known is that both men, Galimov and the engineer, are in serious condition.

From the story on Russia Today:

Visitors of the International Political Forum, who are visiting Yaroslavl at the moment, held a minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of the crash. The Russian Hockey Federation voiced its condolences to the Lokomotiv club, the families of the victims and the entire ice hockey community.

Hockey fans in Moscow are gathering in Red Square near the Kremlin to honor the deceased Lokomotiv players and the other victims of the crash. In Minsk, people are laying flowers in front of the stadium where the team was scheduled to play on Thursday. Yaroslavl fans are meeting at one of the city’s squares to mark the loss of their team.

As well as the statement from the KHL on this unbelievable tragedy:

“We are only beginning to understand the impact of this tragedy affecting the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club and the international hockey community. First and foremost, our condolences go out to the families and friends of the players, coaches and staff lost in today’s tragedy.

“We know that there are many in the KHL family who will be grieving with us. As the investigation of this tragedy progresses we will work closely with investigators, government officials, club executives and the Yaroslavl community. We are working to find an appropriate way to honor this club and begin the healing process from the deep loss so many of us feel today.

“We are aware that many of you have questions. This tragedy remains our primary focus. We ask for patience as we find an appropriate way to proceed with the 2011/2012 season. We will continue to communicate our plans as they take shape.”

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UPDATE:  A list of the deceased can be found here: SovSport.ru

The citizens of Yaroslavl have gathered and are waving flags, jerseys, and laying flowers in respect and in honour of the fallen after today’s news.

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Please keep the families and friends of those involved in today’s epic tragedy in your thoughts as our hockey family has suffered an incredible loss.

More to come as it is available.  A lot seems to be up in the air.  Will continue to update as confirmation comes in.

CDL Season Preview Series: New York Islanders

The Cycle Down Low Season Preview is a feature where we look at the chances for your favourite team in the 2011-2012 NHL campaign.  AND WE’RE GOING TO VEGAS!  With the new season upon us, a mere 30 days away, the CDL Season Preview Series will take you right up to game one of the new season.  Is this the year they surprise everyone and take the Cup?  Are the great expectations placed upon them too much?  Here you’ll get the scoop on what is to come for every team from both the Eastern and Western Conferences.  The breakdown will list the teams in six categories: Stanley Cup Odds (the actual odds from Bodog.ca and a breakdown of what you can expect), Lock (the best bet or biggest star on the team), Upset (the bust or player that won’t preform as well as many think), Pit Bosses (front office), Payout (the overall summary of the team), and CDL Bet (our bet at what the results will be for the team this year).

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STANLEY CUP ODDS: 80/1

The good, and awfully wealthy, people at Bodog have the Islanders as the biggest underdog heading into the season, and it really comes as no surprise.  Toiling in the basement for several years — it has been four seasons since the Islanders last tasted the playoffs — the squad from Long Island has had a difficult time getting much to go their way.  Be it injuries, financial issues, or not being able to fill the building, the Islanders have certainly become every hockey fans punchline.  All that said, it does seem like this could finally be the time the team turns around.  Or not.

It really is as simple as that for the Isles.  After a season in which they lost their all-star defenseman Mark Streit right out of the gate, it was a harbinger of things to come.  The Isles lost over 500 man games to injury, a stat that would make even a Canucks fan shiver and shake with sadness and disgust.  The key injuries, the ones that really prevented the Isles from ever getting their season rolling, were to the Swiss Streit, their power play QB, Kyle Okposo, and — do I even have to say it? — Rick DiPietro.

The oft-injured DiPietro appeared in only 26 games, the highlight of which was pretty much the summation of DiPietro’s career thus far; a one-punch KO at the hands of Penguins backup goaltender Brent Johnson, the left hook sidelining DiPietro for 8 games with a headache/concussion-like symptoms.

On top of it all, Kyle Okposo going down with a shoulder injury in training camp didn’t help the Islanders cause.  When healthy, Okposo registered over half a point per game and some would say if entirely healed he could have done more.

Most will see the Islanders name and, not without reason, shrug the team off and move on, not even giving them a chance.  But the Isles were, for a time, one of the hottest teams in the league last year.  That said, they were also one of the worst for a stretch that last much longer, a 14-game slide putting them right in their normal position in the standings.  Though it seems obvious, the point I am trying to make is that if healthy, the Isles can make some noise.  They’re not world-beaters, but they can surprise some teams.

CDL Season Preview Series: Introduction

The Cycle Down Low Season Preview is a feature where we look at the chances for your favourite team in the 2011-2012 NHL campaign.  AND WE’RE GOING TO VEGAS!  With the new season upon us, a mere 30 days away, the CDL Season Preview Series will take you right up to game one of the new season.  Is this the year they surprise everyone and take the Cup?  Are the great expectations placed upon them too much?  Here you’ll get the scoop on what is to come for every team from both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

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As the introduction says, this year at Cycle Down Low, we’re going to try something a bit different — and bite a bit off of world renowned Puck Daddy’s season preview style — by throwing together a theme for this years season preview.  The theme?  Vegas and gambling.

Listen, we’ve all done it; you’re sitting around a table, you’re talking with a few of your friends, and someone makes an outrageous statement: “I guarantee you that this season, Lubos Bartecko is going to be an all-star! At least 45 goals!”* or, ”THIS is the year Jamie Storr goes off for 40 wins.  He’s going to do what Gretzky couldn’t and carry the Kings to a Cup, baby!”**

In those crazy bets, those outrageous statements, we are going to break down the league from bottom to top by the Stanley Cup futures odds that Bodog.ca has set up this season.

For those unfamiliar, a futures bet is a wager placed on an event that is going to be coming up in the future (Crazy, right?).  Often times these bets encompass all things pertaining to championships — in regards to hockey it would be division winners, conference winners, Presidents’ Trophy, and the Stanley Cup — and can also include things such as: final point leader, final goal leader, who will win which trophy, etc.

You can go to Bodog.ca to view the order or, better yet, visit Cycle Down Low each of the next thirty days as we break down the odds.

So, without further ado, Cycle Down Low is proud to present the NHL Season Preview with sportsbook style.

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*No one has ever said this.
**Or this.

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Follow Cycle Down Low on Twitter @cycledownlow and make sure to subscribe to the RSS feed for the latest from CDL as we preview the NHL season.

The Season is Upon Us

Although I am certain my readership — now the two or three people who will see this link pop up via Twitter or Facebook and take the time to read it — has not suffered from an extended hiatus, I am glad to say that I have come back with some sort of defined dedication to continuing this blog now that the season’s grasp is about to take ahold of all those who call themselves hockey nerds.

With September, we begin to see the news of training camp rosters, last minute tryout contracts, and predictions for the year to come.

On Cycle Down Low, September means a bit more; along with NHL training camp beginning, it gives way to what is almost the beginning of the fourth Kontinental Hockey League campaign, and a season of great change it is sure to be.  Some of the league’s talent has shifted, some of the spending has risen and some fallen, and Vityaz, well, they are the same old Vityaz, goons and all.

While this post states the obvious — yes, the season really is right around the corner — it is also my statement that this blog is back, up and running, and going to be full steam ahead.  Let’s get into the corners and keep our elbows up.  Expect more soon.  As in, later today.

What Could Realignment Mean for the NHL?

Gary Bettman, along with the NHL's Board of Governors, have reportedly been talking about the possibility of realignment for the 2012-13 NHL season

Over the past week, and just days succeeding the NHL’s Board of Governor’s meetings, the story had broke from multiple sources that the NHL is looking at what would be a drastic realignment of their current divisional and conference format.  Many of the reports, including those from the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch and ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, have stated that the NHL is looking for a format that would separate the two conferences into four divisions.  On the heels of the Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg, and the Jets subsequently taking on the role of the fifth team in the current format’s Southeast division, the current format has put the first-year team into a travel nightmare.

The current format, which features six divisions (Northwest, Pacific, Central, Northeast, Atlantic, Southeast) consisting of five teams and three of these divisions in each conference (East and West), is not without flaws and the NHL is very aware of this.  Situated in the Western Conference, both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings are located within the eastern time zone thus playing the majority of their contests outside their natural zone.  On top of playing outside their natural zone, the Red Wings and Blue Jackets have to deal with the fact that televising their games and drawing viewers is made more difficult by having to broadcast the games outside of the ideal time — between 6:30 and 7:30 pm.  Additionally, they will play home games either half or a full hour later than teams within their own division.

Many had believed that realignment was going to be transpire because of the relocation of Atlanta.  It was thought Winnipeg would be shifted to the Western Conference with one team moving back to the Eastern Conference to even both Conferences at fifteen teams a side.  That said, there are very few who believed it would be taken to this extreme.

But what will the realignment do for the National Hockey League?

Inter-Kontinental: KHL Off-season In Full Swing

On a previous, now defunct blog, I was the author of a weekly feature regarding the action in the Kontinental Hockey League. The league itself — though often regarded as shady, low-level, and a clear-cut second or third fiddle to the NHL — houses some of the greatest talent in the world, whether the North American audience wants to accept it or not.

One of the primary features of Cycle Down Low going forward will be the ongoing coverage of all things KHL from the perspective of someone who is themselves in the process of learning the ins-and-outs of a league that keeps itself and its dealings behind closed doors, far away from the prying eyes of media.

Throughout the past year to year and a half stories have come out of players being released from their contracts unjustly, the loss of funds that lead to the collapse of one of the most storied Russian hockey clubs of all time with Dynamo Moscow, and the belief that some players were being run around by the clubs when it came to receiving compensation for their efforts on ice. However, as a hockey fan, the better stories have taken place on the ice.

From the outstanding play of Dominik Hasek, the sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer, as one of the elder statesmen of the game to the development and maturation of Alexander Radulov, the once rising star of the Nashville Predators. It was

Coming off of a year where former LA Kings goaltender Erik Ersberg backstopped a Salavat Ufa Yulaev club that included Radulov, Patrick Thoresen, and Oleg Tverdovsky to their first Gagarin Cup in their post-RSL existence, the playoffs gave way to outstanding performances by Gregory Gelashvili, Pavol Demitra, and an impressive eight goal performance by Lokomotiv defenseman Karel Rachunek, formerly of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils.

Many attack the level of play of the KHL, stating that it’s second rate players — at best — playing against weak competition in a league that lacks physicality and allows players who would be jettisoned by NHL teams to the farm system to flourish, but those are nay-sayers unwilling to appreciate a game that is played with a different skill-set.

Speed and stick-skills dominate the KHL and, while at times it can be a bit shoddy, the goaltending can be quite spectacular.  I will admit that if, in any aspect of the game the KHL is lacking, it is between the pipes.  The goaltenders who make their living in the K, however, are often prone to dealing with defenseman who are geared towards the offensive side of the puck.  The summation of the KHL is as such; great offensive talent and a truly wide-open game.

If the NHL was striving for a product as such, the KHL is where they could have easily looked.

It is a truly astonishing on ice product, one that any hockey fan could appreciate if they took the time to do so.