Ducks not mighty in name only
Adding Pronger with Niedermayer gives Anaheim inside track to win Cup
Christian Petersen / Getty Images fileAnaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer is among the smoothest skaters in the NHL, a master at making plays out of his own end, and is especially proficient at triggering the first pass up ice.
Vezina Trophy
The Flames will try to push the puck a little more, and score a little more, after adding talented forward Alex Tanguay to the top line. But it’s still defense first and last in Calgary, and that game is built around the sure hand and blocker of Miikka Kiprusoff, who not only was last year’s top ’tender, but he also finished third overall—to Joe Thornton and Jaromir Jagr—in the MVP balloting. Kipper won 42 games last season and had a 2.07 goals-against mark. Pencil him in for at least another 40 wins and a second Vezina.
Calder Trophy
Evgeni Malkin wrenched a shoulder in the pre-season, leaving the Russian star out of the Pittsburgh lineup for the start of the season. But be patient, he’s worth the wait, and he’ll be around a long time. He is big (6-foot-3), fast and plays with a bit of an agitating edge, all of which should give Mother Russia her first back-to-back rookies of the year — following Ovechkin’s brilliant freshman debut.
When it’s official, Russia’s Original Six will be: Sergei Makarov (1990), Pavel Bure (1992), Sergei Samsonov (1998), Evgeni Nabokov (2001), Ovechkin (‘06) and Malkin (‘07).
Q: How big a deal is the new rule allowing for more curve on the stick blade?
—John from Atlanta
A: Really, not much of a deal at all, John. A few, and I mean maybe only a handful, of the game’s slickest stickhandlers and shooters might be able to use the itsy bit more curve to their advantage. But remember, the change is only slight, allowing for a ¾-inch bend rather than a ½-inch.
Back in the early ’70s, when the curved blades came into vogue, the league placed no limitations as to what degree players could bow their blades. Some of the models were ridiculous and were known as “banana” blades because their arches were so blatantly curved.
According to Mike Murphy, the league’s VP of hockey operations, the NHL’s GMs and competition committee briefly considered removing all restrictions again. But in the end, they opted for the ¾-inch limitation, feeling that the more exaggerated curves often take skill out of the game rather than enhance the product.
“It gets to the point,” noted Murphy, “that it can make it harder to control a shot, and harder to make a backhand pass, collect rebounds. It becomes skill-limiting.”
Ultimately, the decision rested at ¾-inch, in part because that’s very close to the measure allowed in European hockey, where the limit is set at 1.5 centimeters. A number of European players had difficulty in adapting to the ½-inch limitation, said Murphy, and were more vulnerable to being called for stick violations in NHL games.
Now, everyone is on the same ruler, so to speak, and North Americans will have the option to increase their curve, which could make for a slightly easier transition when they play under IIHF condiitions in international tournaments.
Q: Can the Penguins make the playoffs?
—Mike from Annapolis, Md.
A: The parity that comes with the salary cap, Mike, makes almost everyone a playoff contender. That’s almost everyone.
The Pens, who finished next-to-last in 2005-’06 with only 58 points, will be better with Malkin, and some of their young backliners picked up some valuable experience last season. But overall, their netminding remains a big question mark and they lack scoring depth among their forwards.
The best case: Marc-Andre Fleury is the real deal in net, Sergei Gonchar regains his high-end scoring touch in back, and both Malkin and Sidney Crosby connect for 100-point seasons. If that happens, they have a fighting chance. But I wouldn’t count on it.
Q: After the lockout, Commissioner Bettman stated the NHL Network would be coming to cable systems in the U.S. Is there any timetable for that happening?
—Stu Dolgan from East Windsor, N.J.
A: No firm timetable, Stu, according to Frank Brown, the league’s vice president of media relations.
“There is just no way to predict it,” said Brown, noting that NHL execs remain in talks with a number of potential cable carriers in the U.S. “Possibly there will be something in place by the end of the season, but again, that’s just possible.”
The NHL Network is seen through Canada, often on TSN, and offers a wide array of programming for the true hockey junky. Its time will come in the U.S., and no doubt Comcast, the mothership of OLN/Versus, will make a serious bid at the rights.
Kevin Dupont writes regularly for MSNBC.com and covers the NHL for the Boston Globe.
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