Tag Archives: nhl

From Goalie to Front Office: Always a St. Louis Blue

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By Ellen Chlumecky

January 29, 2015

Playing as a goalie for the New Jersey Devils and the St. Louis Blues for almost 24 years, Martin Brodeur has decided to retire. While he has only played about seven games with the St. Louis Blues, his time with the New Jersey Devils was anything but short or ordinary. In his career with the New Jersey Devils he lifted three Stanley Cups, has won two Olympic gold medals, and several other medals with Team Canada in other international competitions. He is currently the NHL’s all-time leader in regular season wins. He is also the only goalie in NHL history with eight 40-win seasons.

Martin Brodeur will be hanging up his skates and his goalie pads and will be stepping into a suit as he becomes the assistant general manager for the St. Louis Blues. Brodeur has developed a positive relationship with the Blues since his started as their replacement goalie. It seemed only reasonable to take a front office job with them, right?

While it may have seemed to be a smart move, most Devils fan are left scratching their heads. Brodeur spent about 21 years with the Devils. He still stays in contact with their general manager, Lou Lamoriello. He left on great terms with them, as well. Why wouldn’t he take a job with the front office of the Devils?

Lou Lamoriello made a public statement saying that Brodeur has a position with the company, whenever he decides that he wants the job. Lamoriello said, “he’ll be back here, in my opinion, as long as he wants.” Lamoriello sounds pretty confident that he knows where Brodeur’s loyalty lies. He believes that Brodeur is only taking the job because he doesn’t want to leave having bad blood with the Blues.

Doug Armstrong, general manager of the St. Louis Blues, confirms this suspicion. He had spoken to Lamoriello because he didn’t want to appear to be “stealing” the star goalie away. He will continue the job for the rest of the year and see where he stands after that. Lamoriello stated he’d be very surprised if he stayed there longer than that.

Brodeur has always been a dedicated player and I believe that he applies that to his business personality as well. He won’t leave without finishing out the season and I believe that’s what he’s doing with the Blues. Brodeur has been named one of the best goalies of all time, can you blame the Blues for wanting him to stay? Maybe getting him at the end of his career was the smartest move they could’ve made.

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The Crashing Toronto Maple Leafs: Is it Really the Coaching?

By Savannah Malnar

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a great history as an Original Six hockey team in the NHL. Unfortunately lately they have had more downs than ups and have not won a Stanley Cup since 1967. With this drought has come a multitude of personnel changes. Toronto fans are used to coaches being temporary, so it was no shock to them when coach Randy Carlyle, coach of only roughly two and a half seasons, was terminated.

His success with the Anaheim Ducks (who he led to a Stanley Cup) did not transfer to the Leafs. Fans and management hoped his defensive mind would bring a new perspective to the Leafs’ locker room, but instead the team only made the playoffs once under his coaching and then in the 2013-2014 season went 2-12 to end the season and fall out of what looked like to be a clinched playoff spot.

This was when management and fans really began to look at Carlyle’s effectiveness. The decision to fire Carlyle followed a barely winning record of 21-16-3 that left the Leafs grasping onto a wild card playoff spot to start the 2014-2015 season; it was most likely heavily influenced by recently hired (as of the end of the 2013-2014 season) President of the team, hall of fame player and previous Director of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan.

Prominent hockey writer Greg Wyshynski for Yahoo! Sports authored an article titled: “Randy Carlyle fired by Toronto Maple Leafs, finally.” A writer for CBS Sports says this shows the Leafs have “learned from their mistakes.” So it seems the national media agrees with the call. A different view comes from an article from a more local source, the Toronto Star. Rosie DiManno instead goes straight to the top, calling out Brendan Shanahan for not doing enough in his first season as President. She stated she believes General Manager Dave Nonis could be the next piece to go if Shanahan really wants to turn Toronto around. In her words, “And Carlyle, for his sins, was miscast as the old-style coach who could reach deep inside this lineup and come up with a fistful of guts. That’s on management, those who’ve departed and those still here.”

DiManno appears to be among the loyal Toronto fans and media who are desperate for a turnaround for a team with such a strong past. Perhaps Carlyle being sacked will be the beginning of that, or maybe they just have to wait for something bigger.

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Dany Heatley Takes One Step Back

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On December 29th, a rumor surfaced that Dany Heatley was currently being placed on waivers. On December 30th, the Anaheim Ducks announced the decision to move veteran Dany Heatley to their AHL affiliate team in Norfolk.  That same day, the Anaheim Ducks had Heatley clear the waivers and the move to the Norfolk Admirals became official. While this was not the only moving they had been done, it was definitely the one that caused a few heads to turn in the NHL world.

Heatley has made his way around the NHL playing for not only the Anaheim Ducks but the Atlanta Thrashers, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, and the Minnesota Wild. Winning his fair share of awards notably the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top NHL rookie in 2002. Also was one of the Ottawa Senators’ leading scorers during his time with the Senators. With the Senators, Heatley set franchise records for 50 season-single goals which he achieved in not only one, but two back to back seasons. He also scored 105 points during the 2006-2007 season. In 2008, he was Canada’s all-time leader in goals and the all-time leader in points for the World Championships. Heatley has also represented Team Canada in six World Championships, two Olympics, one World Cup of Hockey, and two World Junior Championships. Doesn’t exactly have the criteria of a hockey player who should be sent back down to the AHL, does it?

While some time has passed, Heatley’s reputation has always preceded him for being a tough, go all in player. However, since joining the Anaheim Ducks, Heatley has been scoreless in six games with a minus-3 rating. Heatley has been struggling with a groin problem that required surgery. It’s not like Heatley hasn’t been trying his best though. It’s clear that Heatley has been busting his butt on and off the ice to return to 100%.

Some may wonder why a veteran of his caliber is being sent down to the AHL for a few bad games. Some speculate that the Ducks made the executive decision to send him down so he can work on his rehabilitation. Others suggest that he really hasn’t been clicking with the Ducks as a team. Some people still think that the car accident might have a psychological effect on him and his playing.

Whatever the case may be, this is Heatley’s fifth NHL team. As a veteran, I’m sure he will be able to bounce back from this obstacle in his career.

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Mumps Affecting Not Only the NHL

By Savannah Malnar

Flu outbreaks aren’t uncommon around this time of the year in professional sports leagues. What is uncommon is the appearance of the mumps in the NHL. Professional athletes are forced to spend an excessive amount of time together in close contact, between sharing rooms on road trips and water bottles in the locker rooms. So when a contagious illness hits one player, it’s likely to spread throughout the team. The interesting aspect about these illnesses is that in the NHL they can spread pretty easily to other teams as well, with all the hard hits and the fighting bringing rival players into physical contact.

The outbreak of the disease started in Anaheim with the defensemen Francois Beauchemin and Clayton Stoner, along with star forward Corey Perry. Other teams that have since reported cases include the Minnesota Wild, the New York Rangers, the New Jersey Devils, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The NHL is doing everything in its power to bring awareness to the disease and ensure that the players have access to booster shots or the initial mumps immunization if they did not receive it as a child.

The media’s primary concern right now seems to be the quality of the game with a disease like this going around. What will the Penguins do without Sidney Crosby while he recovers? Did the Ducks lose games they could have won if Perry wasn’t ill?

One ESPN article brought attention to a less talked about side of the epidemic; the American Hockey League. The AHL is a development league for the NHL, and players move up and down between the leagues on daily basis. Two players and one head coach in the AHL have come down with this sickness. The total amount of hockey players affected is up to 18.

Dr. Gregory Poland, the director of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group, believes that this outbreak is not actually all that uncommon. “To be very frank with you, if 13 students at a junior college in rural Arizona had mumps, you and I wouldn’t be talking. It gets hyped because it’s in (professional athletes),” Poland said. Poland also stressed making sure all players receive the immunization they need; from there it’s just a waiting game. There are no cures or antibiotics available for the disease, so hockey players will just have to do what they do best: tough it out.

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Slava Voynov’s Domestic Violence Case Worse Than Expected

By Savannah Malnar

When defenseman Slava Voynov of the Los Angeles Kings was initially arrested on domestic violence charges and suspended indefinitely by the NHL in late October, the media didn’t have a lot of information on the case. Voynov and his wife both claimed it was an “accident,” but the case still went to court.

Fast forward roughly two months to Voynov’s preliminary hearing on Monday. In this hearing, what at first seemed like a possible misunderstanding became much worse. A police officer offered his testimony to the case; apparently, Voynov had pushed his wife to the ground multiple times, kicked her, choked her multiple times, and pushed her into a television which caused a gash above her eye requiring stitches.

Pretty bad, right? The people in the sport media largely agree. Big names such as Yahoo! Sports and the Bleacher Report say it like it is, calling the incident “shocking,” “bloody,” and “horrifying.” An article in the Bleacher Report praised the NHL for its initial suspension, along with its decision to fine the LA Kings $100,000 when they violated suspension protocol and allowed the defenseman to take part in a practice with the team. The NHL’s lack of toleration for both the suspected domestic violence and violation of suspension protocol shows their dedication to ensuring a high standard of how the players act off the ice. This reflects good on the league in comparison to the NFL’s mishandling of the Ray Rice case.

While the large national media outlets highlighted the moral aspect of Voynov’s case and suspension, a more local source, the LA Times, stayed completely objective on that front. In comparison to the headlines “NHL’s Hard Line with Slava Voynov Remains Justified as Horrible Details Emerge” (Bleacher Report) and “Slava Voynov kicked, choked, bloodied wife according to police” (Yahoo! Sports), the LA Times headline was simply “Domestic violence case against Slava Voynov will proceed, judge rules.” This is an extremely stark difference and reflects the habits of local sources tending to be less critical of athletes in these sorts of situations.

With domestic abuse becoming a hot topic in the sports world, both the league itself and the hockey media must be sensitive to the broad audience that the sport invites. Even with the LA Times remaining objective, the media and the NHL have done a good job so far showing this sort of behavior by a player is unacceptable and disappointing.

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Hockey Hall of Fame Being Globalized

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Monday, November 17th, the Class of 2014 was ushered into the Hockey Hall of Fame. These four players from four different countries each played a major role in an important international game which is why they were being honored with this highly esteemed awards. The four former athletes were Peter Forsberg of team Sweden, Mike Modano of team United States, Dominik Hasek of team Czech Republic, and Rob Blake of team Canada.

Peter Forsberg helped team Sweden win gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Mike Modano helped the United States team win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Dominik Hasek helped the Czech Republic team win gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics while also earning tournament MVP honors. Rob Blake helped team Canada achieve a victory at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics after receiving losses in the past three tournaments. These four athletes spent their entire careers working towards greatness and on Friday they were acknowledged not only for their individual team effort but for their international team effort as well.

Not only were these athletes recognized, but a special group of broadcast journalists as well. Pat Foley, of the Chicago Blackhawks, received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. Kevin Allen received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. Coach Pat Burns and referee Bill McCreary also received awards for their dedication to the sport and were inducted into their career category.

Not only is it a huge honor for the National Hockey League to have these amazing athletes in their organization, it is a huge advancement for hockey in general because of the coverage this special event received. The induction ceremony was broadcasted live not only throughout Canada but also through North America. While it was not broadcasted on every major sports channel in the US, it received an immense amount of coverage by the NHL Network.

This particular Hall of Fame class was immensely showed how the globalization of hockey has increased in the past few years. The athletes inducted were not just from the United States and Canada, but from the Czech Republic and Sweden as well. To have four players from four different countries has shown the importance that hockey is making on the world. This class of 2014 has shown the globalization of hockey is spreading even faster than we had originally thought.

I have said it before and I will say it again, hockey is an amazing sport that requires physical and mental toughness. It takes a great deal of skill, endurance, and passion to play hockey and these four men who received awards on Friday are just some of the few that we are so immensely proud of in the NHL. It makes me so happy to see the recognition of these athletes and broadcasters and it makes me even happier to see the diverse coverage of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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Toronto’s Carter Ashton Suspended for Illegal Substance Use

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By Savannah Malnar

Hockey is not a sport in which performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) have ever been a large problem. In fact, up until Thursday, only two players since 2006 had been suspended for violating the National Hockey League’s PED policy. That number is now three, thanks to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Carter Ashton. And it’s an unusual story why.

Ashton tested positive for the use of the illegal substance Clenbuterol. The substance was originally developed as an asthma treatment, but since has been banned for its overuse by athletes as a fat-burner and muscle-definer. But Ashton claims he was not even aware he was using a banned substance; instead, he puts the blame on a borrowed inhaler.

Ashton states that he experienced an asthma attack while exercising in preparation for the upcoming NHL season and borrowed his training partner’s inhaler to remedy it. He was not aware there was any kind of PED or banned drug in the inhaler. In a statement released through the NHLPA, Ashton admitted to using the borrowed inhaler one more time during training camp while still unaware of the contents. In this statement he also said, “Unfortunately, I incorrectly assumed that there were no problems associated with the use of this inhaler and I used it without checking to see whether its contents were permissible under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.”

It truly seems believable that Ashton had no idea he was doing anything wrong. The media sees this and in multiple outlets can be found questioning the automatic 20-game suspension that has been issued under the NHL’s strict drug policy while at the same time admitting he made a mistake in taking an unknown medication (twice).

Hockey fans and writers are swarming to twitter about this topic. Unfortunately, a lot of Toronto fans are joking about this event. Ashton had only played in 3 games for the Maple Leafs this season with no points. The fans and some bloggers have made comments such as “Ashton was on PEDs? He should get his money back.” And, from an esteemed baseball writer with over 26,000 twitter followers, “Carter Ashton also tested positive for cooties after using his friend’s inhaler.” While there is a time and place for everything, making these joke on the day of the questionable suspension is in bad taste.

The lesson to be learned by Ashton and other NHL players is to be careful about the medication they take. Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals was almost denied his Olympic silver medal due to a similar event with allergy medicine while in Sochi. The lesson learned here by the media and fans alike is to treat something as unlucky as this with more respect than jokes directed at the player’s performance.

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Rule 64: Eliminating Embellishment in the NHL

By Savannah Malnar

Toughness has always been an important attribute to any athlete no matter the sport. In hockey, this trait is so imbedded into the sport that it actually can dictate penalties. The NHL has always made calls against embellishment, but this season they decided they weren’t doing enough about it and instructed the officials to “crack down” on players who embellish or dive during a game under NHL Rule 64, which states that “any player who blatantly dives” or “embellishes a fall or a reaction” will get a 2 minute penalty.

What this rule is showing is basically the NHL saying, “Yeah, we understand you got hit, but because you’re being a wimp about it you’re going to get 2 minutes in the box too.”

That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the NHL’s senior executive vice president, Colin Campbell, did say, “Embellishment in the game is a real problem today. We understand players are trying to draw penalties. We feel it’s out of control.”

Last season, the term “diving” was used for these calls; this season the term has changed to embellishment. The NHL saw this as a more fitting word as only three of the 52 diving penalties in the entirety of last season were for faking getting high sticked/tripped/illegally checked/etc. The referees have already started to call out embellishment early in the season, as of October 30th there were already 17 embellishment penalties called.

The hockey media may be a large part of the NHL deciding to encourage these penalties. As I referenced earlier, toughness is a large aspect of the sport. The media tends to portray hockey as a violent sport, littered with big hits and fights; but they don’t portray it as a bad thing. It’s easy to find articles online featuring the best hits of the week.

The media and fans practically worship players who get injured and continue playing. An example from last season would be Philadelphia Flyers center Brayden Schenn taking a skate to the stomach, getting a few repairs on the bench, and then continuing to play in the game and eventually scoring the game winning goal. Words like “impressive” and “amazing” were used to describe it.

Because of this culture, players who incorporate acting skills to draw penalties are not appreciated. But at the same time, referees cannot see everything. Fans and media call for consistent and accurate calls, but forget that the referees have an extremely different angle than those watching the game on television or from the stands. The players understand this, and may defend their embellishment as simply a way to aid the referees in catching penalties that may not be caught if the player was “tough” and didn’t react to a high-stick to the face.

Embellishment is a tricky penalty to be called but the NHL is right to tighten up on not allowing it. Whether it is right or not, hockey is known for the toughness of the sport and eliminating embellishment will help to keep it that way.

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NHL Honors Canadian Soldiers

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By Ellen Chlumecky

October 22nd, 2014 is a date that will now live in infamy in the hearts of all Canadians. At 9:52 a.m. when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau entered the Canadian National War Memorial, everything changed. Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo and then attacked the members of the Canadian Parliament. Two days before, a terrorist attack occurred in Quebec which resulted in the killing of another Canadian soldier. This tragic week has hit Canada like a wrecking ball. Citizens of Canada’s lives were put on hold while they tried to absorb what happened. During this time, everyone tried to put activities on hold until people could grasp what had happened, notably they cancelled the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs game.

This Saturday, October 25th the same week of the tragic shootings, Canada held a commemorative night honoring the fallen soldiers at the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils game.  In combined efforts with the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators and the New Jersey Devils organized the game at Canadian Tire Centre to be a night dedicated to the two Canadian soldiers who had fallen in order to protect others and their country. The ceremony honored not only them, but the Canadian soldiers who were first respondents to both of the shootings.

The Ottawa Senators and the New Jersey Devils stood shoulder to shoulder on the center ice circle for the ceremony. In the middle of center ice were representatives of the Canadian military. The anthem singer sang “O Canada,” which the crowd joined in singing loudly with him. The Senators also showed on the video board the Montreal and Toronto arenas pregame where the crowd sang the Canadian anthem as well.

While the shoulder to shoulder is not something you usually see in these types of ceremonies, it was conveyed a powerful message. That message was the unity of these players symbolized the unity of the players and the unity of America and Canada. This message of the ceremony was to honor the fallen soldiers who gave their lives to protect the lives of other citizens. However, the NHL was also trying to make the statement of unity through hockey.  Hockey holds great importance in Ottawa and Canada as a whole, and for the NHL to come together to show support towards Ottawa says a lot about the power of sports and the compassion that the NHL organization holds for these fallen soldiers, their families, and all that were affected.

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Slava Voynov Suspended Indefinitely: NHL Holds Firm Ground

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Monday morning, Salva Voynov of the Los Angeles Kings was arrested on a case of domestic violence and has been suspended indefinitely from the Kings. They are waiting on a formal investigation by the NHL. The Police Department that arrested Voynov is expected to meet with the Los Angeles Country District Attorney’s office at some point this week.

While the details are still hazy on the next steps to occur to Voynov, the NHL made the clear decision to suspend him indefinitely. While the NHL has not responded as quickly or as appropriately in the past with certain cases such as  Seymon Varlamov where they continued to let him travel and play with the Colorado Avalanche while his case was being tried through the judicial system. With the course of action currently being taken with Voynov it looks as though the NHL wants to improve their methods of discipline.

Gary Bettman stated that the league had been working with the union on the policy for over a decade to improve their policies. He stated that their main focus for the league is counseling and education.  The NHL has a joint program with the Players Association and they provide counseling and educating on domestic violence for more than a decade. The security department holds annual meetings with each individual team. They not only talk about domestic violence but hold substance abuse programs, behavioral health programs, and programs targeting counseling and educating the players on many other issues.

With the recent problems happening in the NFL recently, the NHL clearly needs to show the sports world they can handle their problems with a firm, steady hand. The NHL has the opportunity to show their fans and other spectators that they will not stand for this kind of behavior in their athletes.

Voynov is currently suspended, but after the trial the NHL needs to seriously look into removing Voynov from the league whether or not he was pronounced guilty. By removing a player who was involved in this situation shows the dedication to removing this kind of behavior from the league. The NFL is receiving all kinds of slack for their lack of action with these behavioral problems and domestic violence instances. The NHL needs to act quickly and show the rest of the sports world that this type of problem should not be welcome on teams. When any future players see problems like this in the media, they shouldn’t aspire to be like these players which is why action to remove players like this is the best plan in the long run.

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