Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-25-2018
The 2018 Winter Olympics are over and here's a few things I'll walk away with:
--I'm not sure who built the Team USA men's hockey team, but whoever did could have done better. Way too many elder statesmen on the team and not enough young turks. From a Buffalo Sabre perspective one of their prospects was there, 21 yr. old defenseman Will Borgen, but didn't play and another prospect, 19 yr. old center Casey Mittelstadt should have been, but never got the call.
--Former Sabre Brian Gionta, who is 39 yrs. old, did play for the U.S. but had a very hard time keeping up. Gionta was with the Sabres last season in a third line role and was very effective. Perhaps it was his age. Or maybe it was the extra 15' width found on the Olympic ice at Pyeongchang. I know it will never happen in the NHL, but they should widen their rinks. Would give players so much room to roam
--The NHL did not allow it's players to participate in this year's Olympics which, no doubt, brought down the talent-level greatly. In particular both the U.S. and Canada were hindered by not having NHL talent at the games with Team USA getting bounced in the quarterfinals and Team Canada losing the bronze medal game. Without those players the U.S. was at a distinct disadvantage while Canada was not considered a favorite. Russia went into the Olympics as a prohibitive favorite and did in fact win the tourney.
--Steven Whyno of the Associated Press wrote today that the Russia (or Olympic Athletes of Russia, as they were known throughout the Games) matchup with Germany in the "exhilarating" gold medal game may have saved a "mostly listless tournament. Whyno writes about half-filled arenas in Korea with "tepid interest in North America." I'm sure there was still plenty of interest in North America, but the time difference may have had a lot to do with that. Hockey games were shown live either early in the morning around 7 am EST or late at night like the gold medal game which started at 11 pm EST. I don't know about anyone else, but those times are about the worst ones you can have for sparking interest.
--Those who stayed up for the men's and women's gold medal games were certainly treated to some intense hockey. The Germans took the heavily favored OAR to overtime while on the women's side, Team USA and Team Canada put on quite a show with the U.S. coming out on top in the shootout of an epic contest. The US/Canada rivalry is one of the best in sports and it showed for those willing to stay up until 2:30 am EST to watch it's thrilling conclusion.
--To the party spokesperson who inserted politics into NBC's ratings shortfall on twitter, the 15 hour time difference was huge, as indicated by the times of the men's and women's gold medal hockey games. And to the woman who defended her saying "everything is in prime time here, and live." Wrong. Even the fantastic ladies figure skating finale finished after midnight. If you wanted to watch the men's curling team win their first-ever gold medal, it finished at 1:30 am EST. I'd say those were "must see events" for a number of Olympic fans.
--Hockey fans in Buffalo now have the rest of the season to look forward to, which is akin to sticking needles in their eyes for the remainder of the season. The 18-33-11 Sabres lost 5-1 last night to the Washington Capitals as they were without their two of their top three scorers. Jack Eichel, who still leads the team despite missing the last seven games, is out since suffering a high ankle sprain and Evander Kane (third in scoring) was sat last night for precautionary measures.
--Kane was sat last night (finally, for some) because he is a pending unrestricted free agent whom the Sabres will be trading before the 3 pm trade deadline tomorrow. Buffalo has a home game this evening against the Boston Bruins who just made a trade for one of Kane's comparables. The NY Rangers, who had already traded winger Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils, traded winger Rick Nash today to the Bruins for a first and a seventh round pick and two players. The Rangers also ate some of Nash's salary and acquired two players that make the cap-hits a wash (about $45K difference.) Nash and Kane were the top two wingers available and one of them is gone.
--Sabres fans shouldn't fret about the market for Kane drying up just yet as all the big forward transactions have been in the Eastern Conference. Along with the Grabner/Devils and Nash/Bruins deal, Ottawa Senators center Derick Brassard was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. That leaves the Western Conference wide open for a trade there. Kane plays a rugged north/south, Western Conference style of game to begin with so seeing him head west, if that's where he does land, wouldn't be that surprising to begin with.
--I'm still of the opinion that the Los Angeles Kings would be a great fit for Kane. They could find a spot for him in on the left side, possibly in a Phil Kessel-type role on the third line, and make a run for conference supremacy. The window is closing on the two-time Cup-winning Kings (2012, 2014) as the team is getting older and cap-space is getting tighter. Right now they're just outside a playoff spot in a with a rather large group of teams, but as we've seen in the past get them into the playoffs, especially with a goalie like Jonathan Quick, and they can go all the way.
--Kings GM Rob Blake has stated that he won't mortgage the future for a present run and so far he's done well at doing so while fortifying his team. This is a veteran team with high salaries that are winners. Their big three consist of Quick, captain Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty. Of the three, only Doughty isn't signed beyond next season and if they're going to win, it needs to be now. This is their window and will Blake want to go for it right now would be the first question.
--The second question is, what constitutes mortgaging the future? If the Sabres receive a high pick and a mid-upper level prospect in the Kane deal, it would constitute a win for them. Any ancilliary pieces, like salary coming back (which may be necessary) and retention of salary by Buffalo (which may also be necessary, would make the price rise a little bit. If the Sabres had to eat some of Kane's salary while also taking on another $4 million for either Alec Martinez or Jake Muzzin, then so be it. But in that instance, it would be great if they could walk away with a first rounder and a defenseman like Paul LaDue, something that just might satisfy Blake.
--Buffalo shouldn't feel too bad about their dire straights this season. Sure they're on their way to a seventh consecutive season outside the playoffs. Part of it was a foregone conclusion and part of it was planned while these past two seasons were busts. But they have company in the Atlantic Division as Ottawa and the Montreal Canadiens are barreling to the bottom of the division. The Senators are look to be in full rebuild-mode while the Canadiens may end up heading in that direction.
--Montreal has a goalie in Carey Price who's signed long-term at a $10.5 million cap-hit who's been very average this season while rumors of off-ice personal troubles are said to be hanging over him. Their top defenseman, Shea Weber is out with an injury and is also signed long-term to a large $7.85 million cap hit. Big trade splash and re-sign Jonathan Drouin hasn't lived up to his $5.5 million cap hit, assistant captain Thomas Plekanec has been the subject of trade rumors and now we hear that captain Max Pacioretty wants out.
--The Canadiens were once the gold standard for NHL hockey but they're being reduced to a very expensive pile of rubble who's prized trade/re-sign might be former Sabre Nic Deslauriers.
--Having said that, word on the street is that the LA Kings have a heavy interest in Pacioretty, who like Kane, is a left winger. If that deal goes down, Buffalo GM Jason Botterill may be kicking himself for not pulling the trigger on a potential Kane deal earlier.
Showing posts with label 2018 Winter Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2018 Winter Olympics. Show all posts
Monday, February 26, 2018
Friday, February 23, 2018
Trades beginning to rain all around as Sabres visit Detroit
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-22-2018
Who'd have thought Boston Bruins Frank Vatrano was on the block? Vatrano was a bit of a wunderkind as he pumped in 36 goals 36 games for the Providence Bruins, Boston's AHL affiliate, in 2015-16 after signing a free agent contract out of UMass. In two separate stints with the Bruins he did raise some eyebrows with 18 goals in 83 games while in a support role from 2015-17.
This season, however, Vatrano has struggled scoring only two goals in 25 games and suffering from a lower-body injury. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, as Vatrano took a step back, two young forwards, Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk, took advantage of their opportunity placing Vatrano down the depth chart. Rather than risk losing him to waivers, Boston GM Don Sweeney traded him to the Florida Panthers today for a third round pick.
Of note, the Panthers and Bruins meet four more times.
Things are starting to pick up on the trade front as seven trades have been made in the past four days. This was the second trade in three days for Boston. On Tuesday they strengthened their defense-corps by adding Nick Holden from the NY Rangers for a third round pick. The third they got for Vatrano recoups the pick they sent the Rangers and also, according to Conroy, "gives the B's a little more trade capital with which to work before Monday's trade deadline."
At one point in time the Sabres were said to have the most coveted free agent forward in Evander Kane and while that may still be true, as of this writing he's still donning the Blue and Gold. After Kane there's really not much the Sabres have to offer playoff-bound teams outside of depth. Forwards Benoit Pouliot, Jordan Nolan and Jacob Josefson, along with defensemen Josh Gorges and Justin Falk all, like Kane are pending unrestricted free agents, but all are considered depth players. Backup goalie Chad Johnson is also a pending UFA.
The most intriguing Buffalo player other than Kane is goalie Robin Lehner who is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, according to CapFriendly.com. Lehner's name has been mentioned in a couple of scenarios which at one point included the Chicago Blackhawks and NY Islanders. With Chicago's playoff hopes fading and the Islanders probably focusing on shoring up their defense, the market for a starting goalie is drying up.
Two backup goalies have already been traded as the Philadelphia Flyers picked up Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings and the Arizona Coyotes traded forward Tobias Reider to the Los Angeles Kings for backup Darcy Kuemper and promptly signed him to a 2yr./$3.7 million contract extension. Two other backup goalies were traded in January as the Columbus Blue Jackets picked up Jeff Zatkoff from the Kings and the Edmonton Oilers traded for Al Montoya from the Montreal Canadiens.
So the Sabres will hit the ice in Detroit tonight with the same lineup they've had for most of the season. The report from this mornings skate has Lehner starting in net with the following lineup (barring anyone being pulled because of a pending trade):
Kane-O'Reilly-Reinhart
Girgensons-Rodrigues-Okposo
Wilson-Larsson-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Baptiste
Scandella-Nelson
Beaulieu-Ristolainen
Gorges-Antipin
Nolan and Falk are the scratches for tonight.
*****
Some quick notes:
--This is the third of four meetings between the Wings and the Sabres. Buffalo won the first one in October as Lehner pitched the shutout in a 1-0 victory (with Pouliot scoring the lone goal and Antipin earning his first ever NHL points,) and the Red Wings took the last one 3-1 in November.
--According to Sabres PR, the Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Red Wings; 3-6-1 on the road
--Forward Scott Wilson, who is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, is headed back to Detroit for his first game as a Sabre against his former team. Wilson was acquired by Buffalo on December 4th for a 2019 fifth-round pick and he's been heating up as of late with five points (3+2) in his last six games.
Also from Sabres PR, here's a few players who have picked up the pace lately:
--Ryan O’Reilly has recorded 19 points (9+10) in his last 19 games.
--Sam Reinhart has totaled 17 points (6+11) in his last 16 games.
--Rasmus Ristolainen has 18 points (5+13) in his last 23 games dating back to Dec. 29. Ristolainen’s 18 points during that span tied for eighth among NHL defensemen entering play Wednesday.
--Kyle Okposo has recorded 17 points (4+13) in his last 18 games.
--Evan Rodrigues has totaled six points (2+4) in his last seven games
*****
Of note on the Kane front, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, [NY Rangers winger Michael] "Grabner expected to be pulled from Rangers lineup tonight given trade talks happening... Rangers might potentially do same with [winger] Rick Nash." That's a lot of competition for Kane's services and if GM Jason Botterill doesn't hammer out something soon, the return will lessen by the day.
*****
And finally, congratulations to the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team for bringing home the gold. The Americans outdueled archrival Team Canada in a game that went to the shootout. For as much as everybody hates the shootout in games like this, me included, it was still a very entertaining, yet nerve-wracking skills competition.
It was the ladies first Olympic gold in the sport since 1998.
Who'd have thought Boston Bruins Frank Vatrano was on the block? Vatrano was a bit of a wunderkind as he pumped in 36 goals 36 games for the Providence Bruins, Boston's AHL affiliate, in 2015-16 after signing a free agent contract out of UMass. In two separate stints with the Bruins he did raise some eyebrows with 18 goals in 83 games while in a support role from 2015-17.
This season, however, Vatrano has struggled scoring only two goals in 25 games and suffering from a lower-body injury. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, as Vatrano took a step back, two young forwards, Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk, took advantage of their opportunity placing Vatrano down the depth chart. Rather than risk losing him to waivers, Boston GM Don Sweeney traded him to the Florida Panthers today for a third round pick.
Of note, the Panthers and Bruins meet four more times.
Things are starting to pick up on the trade front as seven trades have been made in the past four days. This was the second trade in three days for Boston. On Tuesday they strengthened their defense-corps by adding Nick Holden from the NY Rangers for a third round pick. The third they got for Vatrano recoups the pick they sent the Rangers and also, according to Conroy, "gives the B's a little more trade capital with which to work before Monday's trade deadline."
At one point in time the Sabres were said to have the most coveted free agent forward in Evander Kane and while that may still be true, as of this writing he's still donning the Blue and Gold. After Kane there's really not much the Sabres have to offer playoff-bound teams outside of depth. Forwards Benoit Pouliot, Jordan Nolan and Jacob Josefson, along with defensemen Josh Gorges and Justin Falk all, like Kane are pending unrestricted free agents, but all are considered depth players. Backup goalie Chad Johnson is also a pending UFA.
The most intriguing Buffalo player other than Kane is goalie Robin Lehner who is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, according to CapFriendly.com. Lehner's name has been mentioned in a couple of scenarios which at one point included the Chicago Blackhawks and NY Islanders. With Chicago's playoff hopes fading and the Islanders probably focusing on shoring up their defense, the market for a starting goalie is drying up.
Two backup goalies have already been traded as the Philadelphia Flyers picked up Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings and the Arizona Coyotes traded forward Tobias Reider to the Los Angeles Kings for backup Darcy Kuemper and promptly signed him to a 2yr./$3.7 million contract extension. Two other backup goalies were traded in January as the Columbus Blue Jackets picked up Jeff Zatkoff from the Kings and the Edmonton Oilers traded for Al Montoya from the Montreal Canadiens.
So the Sabres will hit the ice in Detroit tonight with the same lineup they've had for most of the season. The report from this mornings skate has Lehner starting in net with the following lineup (barring anyone being pulled because of a pending trade):
Kane-O'Reilly-Reinhart
Girgensons-Rodrigues-Okposo
Wilson-Larsson-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Baptiste
Scandella-Nelson
Beaulieu-Ristolainen
Gorges-Antipin
Nolan and Falk are the scratches for tonight.
*****
Some quick notes:
--This is the third of four meetings between the Wings and the Sabres. Buffalo won the first one in October as Lehner pitched the shutout in a 1-0 victory (with Pouliot scoring the lone goal and Antipin earning his first ever NHL points,) and the Red Wings took the last one 3-1 in November.
--According to Sabres PR, the Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Red Wings; 3-6-1 on the road
--Forward Scott Wilson, who is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, is headed back to Detroit for his first game as a Sabre against his former team. Wilson was acquired by Buffalo on December 4th for a 2019 fifth-round pick and he's been heating up as of late with five points (3+2) in his last six games.
Also from Sabres PR, here's a few players who have picked up the pace lately:
--Ryan O’Reilly has recorded 19 points (9+10) in his last 19 games.
--Sam Reinhart has totaled 17 points (6+11) in his last 16 games.
--Rasmus Ristolainen has 18 points (5+13) in his last 23 games dating back to Dec. 29. Ristolainen’s 18 points during that span tied for eighth among NHL defensemen entering play Wednesday.
--Kyle Okposo has recorded 17 points (4+13) in his last 18 games.
--Evan Rodrigues has totaled six points (2+4) in his last seven games
*****
Of note on the Kane front, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, [NY Rangers winger Michael] "Grabner expected to be pulled from Rangers lineup tonight given trade talks happening... Rangers might potentially do same with [winger] Rick Nash." That's a lot of competition for Kane's services and if GM Jason Botterill doesn't hammer out something soon, the return will lessen by the day.
*****
And finally, congratulations to the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team for bringing home the gold. The Americans outdueled archrival Team Canada in a game that went to the shootout. For as much as everybody hates the shootout in games like this, me included, it was still a very entertaining, yet nerve-wracking skills competition.
It was the ladies first Olympic gold in the sport since 1998.
Thursday, February 22, 2018
On the Winter Olympics and Team USA hockey. Amerks/Crunch in Buffalo tonight.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-21-2018
There probably was a contingent of USA hockey fans who checked their phones this morning and found out the that Team USA was ousted from the Winter Olympic Men's Hockey Tournament last night. Those fans may have been aware that the U.S. was in the quarterfinals with an opportunity to advance to the medal rounds and perhaps they knew that the game was just after 10 pm EST last night, which equated to a Wednesday, 12-noon start in South Korea.
Had they been watching NBC prior to that 10 O'Clock hour they'd have seen a variety of events which included figure skating and alpine skiing while their sister station, NBSCN, was broadcasting the ladies short program in figure skating. Which is all well and good, except that I can't remember so much attention given to the short program. Perhaps I'm old, but I don't remember watching Dorothy Hamill, Tara Lipinski,, Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan or Oksana Baiul and their opponents skate their full short program as usually television coverage started with the freestyle portion of the event.
That said, there's a lot of air time to fill and figure skating is much more popular than men's ice hockey. At least when it comes to the Olympics.
However, Team USA was in a do-or-die situation last night in men's hockey and if you were locked into either of those two NBC channels, the quarterfinal match wasn't on. It was only after NBC showed a live look-in about seven minutes into the game did we find out that, yes the game was being played and that it was on yet another channel, CNBC, their financial channel.
For those who did miss the game, it was a good one. Ryan Donato opened the scoring for the Americans before the Czech's scored two unanswered goals. Thirty-five year old Jim Slater, a 2002 first-round draft pick (30th overall) of the defunct Atlanta Thrashers scored the game-tying goal with Team USA shorthanded. The U.S. almost ended it late in regulation as Brian O'Neill rang one off the crossbar (nothing like that sound) with under three minutes to go, but after a 10-minute overtime session, the Czech's scored one goal in the shootout while the Americans were shutout sending the U.S. home without a medal since their 2010 silver medal at Vancouver.
The NHL did not allow it's players to participate in this year's Olympics which really threw a monkey-wrench into the tournament, making a team like the Olympic Athletes of Russia (a stupid title for a Russian team that had mass doping problems, even in curling, which should have banned a large number of it's athletes,) a prohibitive favorite. And it didn't make the NHL's flagship network, NBC, all that happy either as they just plunked down a huge chunk of change for broadcasting rights and the league did nothing to help their Olympic viewing audience by keeping NHL'ers home.
Personally, I have no problems with the NHL not sending their athletes half-way around the world to essentially disrupt a condensed season. As a product of a time when professional athletes were barred from participating in the Olympics, perhaps the "Miracle" in me likes The Games to be about the spirit of competition, which is what it was meant to be in the first place. Soviet/Russian cheating not withstanding.
The Americans lost night and Team Canada just got by a pesky Team Finland 1-0 earlier this morning without NHL'ers. An argument can be made that those two North American rosters were compromised the most by not having those players, but Canada will probably medal and the U.S. went home early, which was how it usually played out prior to NHL players being allowed to participate in 1998.
I get that, and am OK with that. But how Team USA is really what irks me as they went heavy on the elder statesmen of US hockey and short on youth and skill. They were beaten by Slovenia in their opening game, overwhelmed by the Russians and eventually taken out by the Czech Republic. They looked slow on many occasions using what looked like only their will to get as far as they did.
As a Buffalo Sabres fan, I'm of the opinion that they could have have used the speed, stick work and craftiness of Casey Mittelstadt in the wide expanses of the Olympic-sized rink. Sure, I might be a homer, but after watching a plodding U.S. team gut buried when it mattered most, with all due respect to Garret Roe, Chad Kolarik, Slater and Brian Gionta, how much worse could it have been with Mittelstadt in one of their places. Although he's not great in the shootout, in addition to his strong two-way 5v5 play, Mittelstadt is a beast on the powerplay. Of note, Team USA went 0-for-5 against the Czechs last night.
At least Sabres had one of their prospects in Pyeong Chang. Defenseman Will Borgen, a 21 yr. old Minnesota native, made the team but never hit the ice for Team USA. Borgen is a 6'2" 187 lb. defensive defenseman who skates extremely well, takes care of his own end and moves the puck up ice. Perhaps he was too young as Team USA insisted on skating aged veterans like 35 yr. old d-man Noah Welch, James Wisneiwski (34,) and Ryan Gunderson (33) on the back end.
Having said that, perhaps it's better for the Sabres that Borgen didn't get to play at the Olympics. Borgen is a junior at St. Cloud State, the top rank NCAA D-1 men's hockey team. Having only watched the level of play on an international scale may really spark his competitive drive to the point where he'll forgo his senior season and sign with the Sabres. God knows he'll have plenty of opportunity in Buffalo as their blueline continues to transition.
Although it was disappointing to see the U.S. lose, it wasn't unexpected. If the NHL once again withholds it's players from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Bejing, China, perhaps those in charge at Team USA will re-calculate how they want to build their team. Being short on overall skill is one thing, but not injecting a good amount of youthful exuberance is something that can be overcome.
The NBC/NHL contract extension ends after the 2020-21 season so it will be interesting to see if the NHL renews with NBC. It will also be intriguing to see what kind of coverage men's hockey receives should the NHL not allow it's players, once again, to travel half-way around the world for the Olympics. And in the midst of all that, the NHL/NHLPA collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2018-19 season and if players are ticked about not being allowed to compete this year, you can bet you bottom dollar that will be a negotiation issue.
Happy Olympics everyone.
*****
The Rochester Americans are going to attempt to do something tonight their parent club, the Buffalo Sabres, haven't done a lot of at KeyBank Center--win. The Sabres, who are last in the Eastern Conference and have the league's worst home record at 8-18-4. In eight February home games the Sabres are 2-5-1 and have been outscored in those games 26-18.
Rochester is in the midst of a playoff run that could take them to the post-season for the first time in three years and they'll be on the KeyBank Center ice tonight to face off against the rival Syracuse Crunch (TBL.) The Amerks (26-13-8-6) are a hundredth of a percentage point ahead of the Crunch (30-18-2-3) in the Eastern Conference.
At one point the Amerks were josting with the Toronto Marlies (TOR) for first place in the division, but a tough 15-game stretch which saw them win only three times (3-5-4-3) has drppped them in the standings. The Crunch come into tonight's contest having won four of five and have gotten points in five of six.
This will be the sixth time the Amerks host a game in Buffalo. Overall they're 4-1-0-0 and are presently on a three-game winning streak on the Sabres ice.
There probably was a contingent of USA hockey fans who checked their phones this morning and found out the that Team USA was ousted from the Winter Olympic Men's Hockey Tournament last night. Those fans may have been aware that the U.S. was in the quarterfinals with an opportunity to advance to the medal rounds and perhaps they knew that the game was just after 10 pm EST last night, which equated to a Wednesday, 12-noon start in South Korea.
Had they been watching NBC prior to that 10 O'Clock hour they'd have seen a variety of events which included figure skating and alpine skiing while their sister station, NBSCN, was broadcasting the ladies short program in figure skating. Which is all well and good, except that I can't remember so much attention given to the short program. Perhaps I'm old, but I don't remember watching Dorothy Hamill, Tara Lipinski,, Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan or Oksana Baiul and their opponents skate their full short program as usually television coverage started with the freestyle portion of the event.
That said, there's a lot of air time to fill and figure skating is much more popular than men's ice hockey. At least when it comes to the Olympics.
However, Team USA was in a do-or-die situation last night in men's hockey and if you were locked into either of those two NBC channels, the quarterfinal match wasn't on. It was only after NBC showed a live look-in about seven minutes into the game did we find out that, yes the game was being played and that it was on yet another channel, CNBC, their financial channel.
For those who did miss the game, it was a good one. Ryan Donato opened the scoring for the Americans before the Czech's scored two unanswered goals. Thirty-five year old Jim Slater, a 2002 first-round draft pick (30th overall) of the defunct Atlanta Thrashers scored the game-tying goal with Team USA shorthanded. The U.S. almost ended it late in regulation as Brian O'Neill rang one off the crossbar (nothing like that sound) with under three minutes to go, but after a 10-minute overtime session, the Czech's scored one goal in the shootout while the Americans were shutout sending the U.S. home without a medal since their 2010 silver medal at Vancouver.
The NHL did not allow it's players to participate in this year's Olympics which really threw a monkey-wrench into the tournament, making a team like the Olympic Athletes of Russia (a stupid title for a Russian team that had mass doping problems, even in curling, which should have banned a large number of it's athletes,) a prohibitive favorite. And it didn't make the NHL's flagship network, NBC, all that happy either as they just plunked down a huge chunk of change for broadcasting rights and the league did nothing to help their Olympic viewing audience by keeping NHL'ers home.
Personally, I have no problems with the NHL not sending their athletes half-way around the world to essentially disrupt a condensed season. As a product of a time when professional athletes were barred from participating in the Olympics, perhaps the "Miracle" in me likes The Games to be about the spirit of competition, which is what it was meant to be in the first place. Soviet/Russian cheating not withstanding.
The Americans lost night and Team Canada just got by a pesky Team Finland 1-0 earlier this morning without NHL'ers. An argument can be made that those two North American rosters were compromised the most by not having those players, but Canada will probably medal and the U.S. went home early, which was how it usually played out prior to NHL players being allowed to participate in 1998.
I get that, and am OK with that. But how Team USA is really what irks me as they went heavy on the elder statesmen of US hockey and short on youth and skill. They were beaten by Slovenia in their opening game, overwhelmed by the Russians and eventually taken out by the Czech Republic. They looked slow on many occasions using what looked like only their will to get as far as they did.
As a Buffalo Sabres fan, I'm of the opinion that they could have have used the speed, stick work and craftiness of Casey Mittelstadt in the wide expanses of the Olympic-sized rink. Sure, I might be a homer, but after watching a plodding U.S. team gut buried when it mattered most, with all due respect to Garret Roe, Chad Kolarik, Slater and Brian Gionta, how much worse could it have been with Mittelstadt in one of their places. Although he's not great in the shootout, in addition to his strong two-way 5v5 play, Mittelstadt is a beast on the powerplay. Of note, Team USA went 0-for-5 against the Czechs last night.
At least Sabres had one of their prospects in Pyeong Chang. Defenseman Will Borgen, a 21 yr. old Minnesota native, made the team but never hit the ice for Team USA. Borgen is a 6'2" 187 lb. defensive defenseman who skates extremely well, takes care of his own end and moves the puck up ice. Perhaps he was too young as Team USA insisted on skating aged veterans like 35 yr. old d-man Noah Welch, James Wisneiwski (34,) and Ryan Gunderson (33) on the back end.
Having said that, perhaps it's better for the Sabres that Borgen didn't get to play at the Olympics. Borgen is a junior at St. Cloud State, the top rank NCAA D-1 men's hockey team. Having only watched the level of play on an international scale may really spark his competitive drive to the point where he'll forgo his senior season and sign with the Sabres. God knows he'll have plenty of opportunity in Buffalo as their blueline continues to transition.
Although it was disappointing to see the U.S. lose, it wasn't unexpected. If the NHL once again withholds it's players from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Bejing, China, perhaps those in charge at Team USA will re-calculate how they want to build their team. Being short on overall skill is one thing, but not injecting a good amount of youthful exuberance is something that can be overcome.
The NBC/NHL contract extension ends after the 2020-21 season so it will be interesting to see if the NHL renews with NBC. It will also be intriguing to see what kind of coverage men's hockey receives should the NHL not allow it's players, once again, to travel half-way around the world for the Olympics. And in the midst of all that, the NHL/NHLPA collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2018-19 season and if players are ticked about not being allowed to compete this year, you can bet you bottom dollar that will be a negotiation issue.
Happy Olympics everyone.
*****
The Rochester Americans are going to attempt to do something tonight their parent club, the Buffalo Sabres, haven't done a lot of at KeyBank Center--win. The Sabres, who are last in the Eastern Conference and have the league's worst home record at 8-18-4. In eight February home games the Sabres are 2-5-1 and have been outscored in those games 26-18.
Rochester is in the midst of a playoff run that could take them to the post-season for the first time in three years and they'll be on the KeyBank Center ice tonight to face off against the rival Syracuse Crunch (TBL.) The Amerks (26-13-8-6) are a hundredth of a percentage point ahead of the Crunch (30-18-2-3) in the Eastern Conference.
At one point the Amerks were josting with the Toronto Marlies (TOR) for first place in the division, but a tough 15-game stretch which saw them win only three times (3-5-4-3) has drppped them in the standings. The Crunch come into tonight's contest having won four of five and have gotten points in five of six.
This will be the sixth time the Amerks host a game in Buffalo. Overall they're 4-1-0-0 and are presently on a three-game winning streak on the Sabres ice.
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