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Sean Avery isn't just taking shots at Don Cherry these days. In an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols, the Vogue Magazine intern and Dallas Stars' forward is critical of the NHL's marketing overtures, but also provides an unwitting insight into what his bad boy act is all about. When Nichols asked him, “the way you are the personality you've created, how is that good for the game?” Avery answered: “It would certainly be good for the game if we marketed the game, but the NHL does a terrible job of marketing. They just, they haven't figured it out that villains and heroes are what sells. Our commissioner (Gary Bettman) hasn't realized that he needs to probably do a better job of marketing the game and certainly some of the players in it. But I don't think that's ever going to change unless they hire me to run their marketing stuff.”
It's hard to dispute the value of selling heroes and villains – a nice nod to Beach Boy Brian Wilson there – but the implication that Avery's act is all so very calculated also comes through loud and clear. Maybe that does sell a ticket or two, but it's hard to believe that's why the Stars shelled out so many dollars to sign him. Presumably, Dallas is more interested in Avery's contributions on the ice than his marketing skills off the ice.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: A very shrewd move by the Vancouver Canucks – and first-year general manager Mike Gillis – to give goaltender Roberto Luongo the captaincy, the first goalie to get the C (even if he can't wear it) in more than 60 years. Luongo is approaching a crossroads in his career with the Canucks – wanting to get a clear indication of the direction the organization is taking before committing to a long-term contract. By making him the captain, they've given him a stronger voice and a far greater personal stake in the operation. More and more, that is going to become a factor, as teams try to lock up core personnel for the long term – and maybe even do so at dollar figures that would be less than their worth on the open market. Calgary did it with Jarome Iginla – when the Flames signed Todd Bertuzzi last summer, they consulted Iginla before making the decision and then put Iginla's endorsement in the official press release. Iginla is currently in the midst of a five-year contract paying him $7-million (all currency U.S.) a year and left money on the table – not a ton maybe but at least $1-million per – so there'd be dollars left owner to sign Dion Phaneuf, Miikka Kiprusoff and the rest of the players that make the team go.
One has to assume the Ottawa Senators will try to structure a similar extension for their captain Daniel Alfredsson (preliminary negotiations are already underway). Alfredsson signed what turned out to be a below-market deal just before the NHL embarked on the lockout (below market because it was subject to that 24 per cent roll back and comes in at a very attractive cap hit of $4.339-million). It will be interesting to see what a player of his stature, a perennial top-20 scorer, would settle for, in order to stay a Senator for life. Or, after taking a financial hit on this last deal, will he want to hit a home run in what will amount to his last chance to earn really big NHL dollars? And the one wild card – there are three option years attached to the current contract, which require him to play 70 games and score 70 points this season. If Alfredsson accomplishes that, he can qualify for unrestricted free agency. If not, the option switches to the Senators, who can get him for another year at the $4.339-million figure. Alfredsson played exactly 70 games last season (and scored 89 points in that span.)
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ETC ETC: The Anaheim Ducks probably would have preferred to keep Sean O'Donnell as their fifth defenceman as opposed to Ken Klee, but they needed to get under the salary cap and O'Donnell represented a more attractive option to the Los Angeles Kings, which is why he was traded. The Ducks received Klee as part of the deal that saw Matt Schneider's $5.675-million contract exiled with the Atlanta Thrashers. O'Donnell played top-four minutes in the Ducks' 2007 championship season. Klee won't need to do that because Kent Huskins has improved enough to log bigger minutes alongside Chris Pronger; and Francois Beauchemin, who got lost in the shuffle last year while Scott Niedermayer was on hiatus, will get a more defined role – and should be better as a result. Klee earns $1.25-million; exactly the same as O'Donnell, which is why the decision came down to which player was easier to move. O'Donnell represents just the sort of player the Kings lost when Rob Blake left to join the San Jose Sharks as a free agent, a respected veteran who can help their kids on defence. Schneider might have done the same thing, except he would have cost them about $4-million more . . . How to win the game and lose big anyway: In last week's easy 7-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, the Columbus Blue Jackets lost newcomer Raffi Torres for up to six weeks with a separated shoulder. Torres, who was hurt in a fight with Ben Eager, was playing his first exhibition game of the season and his first action since knee surgery back in December, when he was with the Edmonton Oilers . . . How deep are the Red Wings? A year ago, they split up Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in camp, trying to balance two lines, but that strategy came to an abrupt end after Johan Franzen got hurt in the final exhibition game. At that point, coach Mike Babcock decided to put all his scoring eggs in one basket and for a goodly part of the year, the Red Wings relied heavily on one line – Datsyuk, Zetterberg and either Tomas Holmstrom or Franzen – for offence. This year, thanks to the addition of Marian Hossa, he can go back to Plan A. Datsyuk and Zetterberg will both play centre; Datsyuk with Hossa and Holmstrom; Zetterberg with Franzen and Jiri Hudler. That leaves the highly skilled Valtteri Filppula, along with Daniel Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson as a third line; and any number of grinders, from Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper, to flesh out the fourth line. Darren Helm, it was thought, might go back to the minors after playing so well down the stretch, but Tomas Kopecky is healthy again too, so what do you do with him? Decisions, decisions, decisions … Contrast the Red Wings wealth of riches to poor old Nashville, where the beleaguered Predators lost Alexander Radulov, a first-line forward, to Russia's KHL, as well as Jan Hlavac, who was a useful addition after the trading deadline last season. The top line – of Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont and Martin Erat – can be productive, but after David Legwand, the proven talent level falls way off, which is why they're counting on two rookies, Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Jones, to crack the line-up. Jones is a college player, acquired from Minnesota in the Marek Zidlicky trade; Hornqvist was chosen in the seventh round of the 2005 draft by the Predators. Signed to a contract in June, 2007, he didn't make the team in training camp last year and returned to play for Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League. This year, the hope is that he will not only play in the league, but play as a top-six forward … No one picks over the NHL's bargain table more judiciously than Preds' GM David Poile; he was at it again this past week, getting Nick Tarnasky from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a conditional draft choice (fifth round if he plays more than 55 games, otherwise a sixth-rounder). Tarnasky, who would have been hard-pressed to find regular duty in Tampa after all their off-season moves, toughens up the Predators, important now that Jordin Tootoo may get to play more of an offensive role … Is Devils freshman Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond a rookie-of-the-year candidate? Probably not. Just wanted to type in his name; and see if it rolled off your tongue the way it does off mine. Now if the Blue Jackets, or someone else, could just repatriate Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre from Germany, all would be well . . . The Devils will be far deeper up front this season, after coaxing Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik back into the fold. Rolston will play in a top-six role; along with Zach Parise, Travic Zajac, Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta. John Madden and Jay Pandolfo make up two-thirds of an exceptional checking line, so Holik will be back in familiar territory, as a member of a Crash Line, with Dainius Zubrus and Mike Rupp. For the first time in more than a decade, Sergei Brylin isn't with the Devils; he's gone to the KHL after New Jersey showed only lukewarm interest in bringing him back … With Derian Hatcher unlikely to play any hockey this season, Bryan Berard's chances of cracking the Flyers' line-up as a free agent are greatly enhanced. After Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, the talent on the blue line drops way off – to the likes of Ossi Vaananen, Randy Jones, Lasse Kukonen and a couple of youngsters, Ryan Parent and former Washington blueliner Steve Eminger . . . Realistically, all four teams opening the NHL season in Europe should make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference – Pittsburgh, the Rangers and Ottawa were all decent squads last season; and Tampa undertook the most ambitious changes, trying to execute a Flyers-like about-face after one season as the league's worst team. If they don't, you can be sure that their European odyssey will be blamed, in large measure, for any stumbles they may take. Does that mean the NHL will shy away from future dates in the great capitals of Europe? On the contrary, as few as six teams and possibly as many as eight, could be part of next year's 2009 season-opening tour. There is also talk of more international competition coming with the World Cup, on hiatus since 2004, returning to the schedule by 2011.
AND FINALLLY: Watched any exhibition games? Seen any difference in the goalie equipment that would lead you to believe scoring will be up this season? No? And no? Well, you're not alone and it isn't your eyes deceiving you either. The goalie equipment review committee, struck last season amid great fanfare, met this summer and the changes they made coming out of that inaugural session were minimal – slight reductions to the pads and chest protectors – not enough to see “the big changes that everybody's looking forward”, which is how Hurricanes' GM Jim Rutherford, a member of the committee, put it in an interview.
However, Rutherford went on to say the off-season get-together “was a big step in that direction – because the meeting was well-received from all sides; and it was pointed out that something was going to be done at some point, so let's work together.
“There were good adjustments made, but not the level of where it needs to be, which is probably going to take one or two more seasons.”
Rutherford is a former NHL goaltender, and so will clearly keep the interest of the fraternity front and centre. But he also believes that something must be done, sooner or later - or larger nets will go from a vague futuristic concept to an issue that'll be on the table in a serious way, when GMs discuss possible rule changes.
“The No. 1 thing is always going to be to protect the goalies,” he said, “but with the manufacturers and the way things have changed in terms of how they make the equipment, we're going to be able to do that - at the same time as streamlining the equipment, so the shooters will have more net to shoot at. Now, they may not score any more, because the goalies are just so good and they may make the necessary adjustments.” True enough. If the equipment gets smaller and lighter, it may also make the goalies quicker. And even with smaller equipment, there is no way of shrinking the size of the six-footers that now play the position – a major change from Rutherford's day.
“I think ultimately what'll happen, when the equipment gets to where it should be, is that the good goalies are still going to be good and the below-average ones are going to be further below.”
