In Defense of Mats Sundin

Yeah, never thought I'd be writing that.

Let's get this clear up front. I do not enjoy Mats Sundin. Against the Sabres at least, he's a punk, constantly cross-checking or punching players behind the play and after the whistle. I would be more than happy to never, ever play him again.

That said, I find the idea that he owes it to the Leafs to waive his no-trade clause to be really ridiculous. Let's put aside the obvious - he negotiated the NTC so he couldn't be traded - and focus on this: Mats Sundin has repeatedly chosen to stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Due to horrible mismanagement the team has wasted a huge chunk of the prime of his career and he STILL wants to play there. He accepted a contract that was under market value so the Leafs had money to play with and they wasted it and he STILL wants to play there. If he wins a Cup he wants it to be with teammates he's played with all season for the franchise he - for whatever reason - loves. He's given his heart, soul, and body to the Leafs and their fans for more than the past decade and he's placing more importance on emotional ties to a team and a city than on a token championship with teammates he barely knows and fans who couldn't really care less about him. Good for him. He doesn't owe the Leafs a gosh darn thing. They owe him. First they owe him a big fat apology for the wasted years and then they owe him a huge retirement party when the time comes along with eternal thanks for how much he's given the franchise over the years. God forbid a player actually shows fans (and owners) the loyalty they're always crying doesn't exist in pro sports anymore. If there's a bad guy in this situation it's the Leafs ownership and management. It sure as heck is not Mats Sundin.

I really did mean to post something about the Rangers game but I got distracted by Bucky (see yesterday's post) and now pretty much everything has been said somewhere. I will say this: Don't underestimate the importance of Jochen Hecht being out of the line-up. His presence probably wouldn't have eliminated Ales Kotalik's blind backhanded pass to the middle of the ice right in front of his goalie - when is that ever a good idea, Al? - but he's so responsible with the puck that it might have helped our turnover issues. I also think he brings some of the zen calmness to the team that certain other guys provided in the past.

Still... I have to say that while that game was not exactly encouraging - we kind of need to beat good(ish) teams eventually - it didn't exactly put a deep, dark fear of the Rangers in me. They looked as sloppy as we did, we just made the last major mistake before time ran out. If we don't beat the Flyers tonight however, I will cry.

One last note to Jaromir Jagr for accusing Thomas Vanek of goalhanging. This is ridiculous for a few reasons: A) It's not true B) Jagr had two turnovers lead directly to goals so he wasn't exactly great out there C) Jagr lost all right to criticize someone else's effort a good long while ago and D) Jagr's a dick.

Why I Love Hockey - Part 19

It's a joyous day here at Stately B. Manor because we received our mini-pack order form in the mail today! Yay! It's official - hockey season is slowly but surely getting closer! The January 1 game, the rumored Ice Bowl, isn't on the form which is good news and bad news. Bad because, c'mon Sabres you can't let mini-pack holders order tickets to that game? The Ralph holds 80 bajillion people, it's not like we're going to buy the place out. But it's good because that seems like pretty good confirmation that there is something special going on with that game. It would be nice to have first dibs on reserved seats, but I don't really expect availability to be a HUGE issue considering the seating capacity of the stadium. I do know this - I will be there. If I have to mug small children and steal their tickets, I will be there.

Most of our other games will probably be value games since we're living on the cheap right now which means unexciting opponents like the Blue Jackets, the Islanders, and the Blues (okay, I did request the Blues game in hopes that Jay McKee will be healthy and playing). But we're planning on throwing in an Ottawa game, and Penguins game, and maybe the Flyers depending on what I decide about seeing Danny Briere back in town. Right now I can't decide if I want to be there or not just because I'm not entirely sure what kind of reaction he's going to get from the crowd. I have no desire to hear Danny get booed. I'm a little sad that he ended up in Philly because I was really looking forward to seeing Marty Biron's triumphant return to Buffalo and now I think the crowd is going to be a little more mixed. Although it's possible Danny will get cheered like a returning hero and Darcy Regier will get booed all season. Who knows? Buffalo, you're so hard to predict!

Why I Love Hockey #19 - Skating
I cannot ice skate. Not at all. Granted I grew up in an area of the country where ice skating is not exactly the happening thing to do since the only place to find ice was in the one rink in a 300 mile radius. I only attempted skating once in my life and it didn't go well. I've said many times since moving to Buffalo that I was going to take another stab at it, but I know in my heart, it is one athletic skill I'm just not destined to be very good at. This is part of the reason hockey blows me away. Hockey players shoot, pass, juke, jive, spin, fake and fly... and they do it all on ice skates! It's such an integral part of hockey that it's easy to take it for granted. But everyone once in a while I see an amazingly awesome move and I realize, "Holy crap! He just did that on ice skates!" I couldn't pull off some of these movies in plain ol' sneakers.

I love that some guys are purely functional skaters. They look terrible and clunky but they get the job done. Andrew Peters is not a great skater by NHL standards but he could skate circles around you and all your friends whether you want to admit it or not. I love that some guys are just amazing skaters, poetry in motion. I love how even great skaters can have completely different styles. I love watching Henrik Tallinder take those long, smooth strides, so graceful that it sometimes looks like he isn't even working that hard. But I also love watching Brian Campbell duck his head and take off down the ice in short, choppy strides, his little legs pumping just as fast as they can. I love watching Maxim Afinogenov hit full speed within a couple of steps, come to a complete and total stop just like that, turn, and then blast off in another direction. I love watching Scott Niedermayer effortlessly skate around oncoming hits, as nimble as a dancer. I love watching Jaromir Jagr just power his way through opponents with those big, powerful legs. I love watching Sidney Crosby take a pass and then kneel down, while still moving forward, to place the shot exactly where he wants it. I love guys going into a full body slide to block a shot and then popping right back up on their skates. One of the things I hate about the new streamlined jerseys is that it means no more jerseys flapping behind players as they fly down the ice. That just ain't right.

Agony and Ecstasy Pt. II: The Internet Hates Me

My internet connection has been crap all day so who knows when this will finally post. For the record, I wrote this Sunday night.

I missed most of regulation because of my second job – curse you, credit card debt! – but I'm not as upset about that as I'd usually be because I hate watching our struggling power play more than anything else. How, how, how can a power play be so good one season and so darn crappy the next season when there wasn't a drastic change in personnel? Did J.P. Dumont really make that much difference? Are we missing Jay McKee? (Kidding.) I don't get it. I'm ready to blow up the whole thing and start all over. Throw guys who have never played on the power play before out there. Let Ryan play the point. I don't know. I do know this: One, it can't get much worse. Two, we're not going to beat Ottawa/Jersey/Anaheim/San Jose by going 1 for 10 every night.

A few random thoughts:

- Despite the loss, I feel pretty good. It sucks to play for that long and lose but I don't think anyone really expected us to take both games at MSG. Kudos to the boys for pulling themselves together and battling as long and hard as they did – I do love that you can't ever really count them out – but it's probably about time we lost a game like this. We've been living dangerously.

- I can't believe yet another goal review went in our favor. That alone is almost enough to make me believe it's our year. Honestly, I could've seen that review going either way and I'll admit I'm fine with it because it favored my team. But I do agree with Ray Ferraro that the kicking rule should be done away with. Is there really that much difference between a guy using his foot and using his stick? If it goes in the net, it goes in the net. The skater could head it in for all I care. I think Ferraro lost his mind a little with the whole "a review shouldn't take more than 2 minutes" argument though. What are they supposed to do at the end of two minutes, Ray? Poll the war room? Flip a coin? I can't believe Brett Hull was the voice of reason but he was absolutely right – take as long as it takes if it means getting the call right. Incidentally, you should've seen the look on my husband's face when he realized he was agreeing with Brett Hull. I'm sure minds across Buffalo were short circuiting at the sudden disconnect with the usual Hull related thoughts.

- How about Old Man Numminen stopping that shot from going in? NBC's 1800 replays might've been overkill, but it was a heads-up play nonetheless. I love Lydman and Tallinder and I think they've done an outstanding job this series (glove tap to NBC for giving them a little love), but I was a tad disappointed that no one got a stick on the goal that rolled lazily between Ryan's legs and across the goal line. I loved Emerick and Olczyk going on and on about Teppo's "homemade" sticks. Guys, he owns a stick company. He's not whittling them out of the trees in his backyard. Anyway… maybe the Teppo haters will back off for a day. I haven't decided how I feel about Teppo coming back for another season when Nathan Paetsch is waiting in the wings, but I don't understand how anyone can criticize Teppo for what he's done in Buffalo these last couple of years. I don't think it's any coincedence that a couple of our young defensemen have really come along while playing with him.

- Good lord, enough with Jaromir Jagr. If I had to listen to anyone on NBC rave about how much Jagr seems to be enjoying the playoffs this year and how involved he's been in the play this year, I might've put my fist through the TV screen – and I missed the first two periods of regulation. Guess what, NBC? Jagr is not a 19-year-old kid who's playing over his head. He's a 35-year-old veteran who is in the 16th season of his NHL career. We shouldn't be jumping with excitement and praising him for finally playing with a little passion. We should be wondering what the hell took so long! You can tell me he's grown-up and matured all you want. I'm not buying it. It looks to me like he's in a situation where the organization and coach have given him whatever he's asked for. I'm not impressed that he's suddenly happy and excited. Jagr absolutely had a good game today and he's had a very good career but I can't help but feel that he's wasted a lot of talent over the years. If you put his skill into the body of someone with the heart and passion of Chris Drury then you'd have a player worth celebrating. I'm almost afraid to imagine the career that guy would have. Until that happens, shut up.

Even though we lost, I was reminded today that there really is nothing else in all of sports like overtime in the playoffs in the NHL. Nothing. I've mentioned before that I grew up in Alabama, not exactly a hockey-centric area. The Sabres' playoff run in 1999 was my first real dose of the NHL, and the excruciating, agonizing excitement of overtime really helped suck me into the sport. I'll never forget totally ignoring my babysitting duties during the first OT of Game Six, scooting to the edge of my seat every time the Sabres took the puck into the offensive zone and leaping up with every shot or sinking into the couch and covering my eyes every time Dallas had the puck in our zone. I'll never forget jumping in the car and breaking every speed limit between the Hamilton's house and mine in an effort to get home before the second OT started. I'll never forget the knot in the center of my stomach and the devastating suddeness of the loss. Things were going, going, going and boom! Just like that it was all over. Even though the Sabres lost, it was largely the memory of the fun and agony of that night that led me back to hockey when the next season started. Basketball's overtime scoring goes back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Baseball's extra innings are, with the exception of a walk-off homer, long and slow. Runners move progressively around the bases, the other team often has a chance to tie the game back up. You can see it coming. Same with football. Even though it's sudden death, play generally moves slowly down the field. Overtime hockey isn't like that. Guys fight and scrap, leaving everything they have on the ice, and with one shot, it's all over. Someone's a winner and someone's a loser. It's an amazing high when you're the winner and completely heart-breaking when you're the loser, but I wouldn't have it any other way.