With the NHL season set to begin tomorrow I was looking around at each teams final rosters and noticed that some players are being paid way too much for what they bring to the ice. That inspired me to compile a roster of the most overpaid players in the league.

Here’s how it will work. An active NHL roster has 20 players on it (12 forwards, six defenseman and two goalies) and that’s what I’ll put together here. I’m going to select four centers, eight wingers, six defenseman and two goalies who I believe are being paid much more than their talents and skills deserve.

Don’t get me wrong - this is not a slam on the players at all. These guys were offered a salary and they accepted it just like any of us would have done. This is more a reflection on the GM’s that signed these players to these contracts. So, without further ado, here is the 2009/2010 All-Overpaid Team!

Centers:

- Scott Gomez ($7.357 million)

Gomez is the highest paid player on the All-Overpaid team and what does all that cabbage get us? 16 goals and 58 points, apparently. Gomez was a huge disappointment with the Rangers and was dealt to the Canadiens over the summer. He’s one of many players that could play his way off of this team this season but until he does he’s a no-brainer pick for this squad.

- Chris Drury ($7.05 million)

Making just a little less than Gomez is another Rangers disappointment - Chris Drury. He put up a whopping 22 goals and 56 points last season which are not terrible numbers, but they are not worth more than $7 million a year, either. Drury is allegedly a great leader in the locker room though we haven’t seen that impact the Rangers on the ice yet and when you are making the 15^th highest salary in the league you’d better be higher than 81^st in the league in scoring.

- Shawn Horcoff ($5.5 million)

Compared to Drury and Gomez, Horcoff seems like a bargain at just $5.5 million a year! But when you realize that he put up 53 points last season and that the Oilers paid him more than $100,000 per point…he doesn’t seem like much of a bargain anymore.

- Michal Handzus ($4 million)

Handzus is a good third line center for the Kings but third line centers should not be paid $4 million. He was the Kings highest paid forward last season and, again, for a guy that plays on the third line that is absurd.

Total spent on centers: $23.907 million

Left Wingers:

- Paul Kariya ($6 million)

Paul Kariya had 15 points in 11 games last season and ended up missing most of the year due to injuries. But before that his production had gone down three years in a row and he’s become more of a passer than a sniper. $6 million seems a bit steep for a veteran playmaker coming off a major injury and who has never been confused for a Selke candidate.

- Martin Erat ($4.5 million)

Erat is not quite in the Horcoff “$100,000 per point” club but he did make $90,000 per point last season and supplemented that by being a -7. He’ll have to play better this season to find his way off the squad next season.

- Dustin Penner ($4.25 million)

Penner was another no-brainer for this team. I remember when he went to the Oilers many Edmonton fans were thrilled about getting a big man with such soft hands. Then they watched him play and the excitement wore off…quickly. Penner is big, but plays like he’s either fragile or tiny as he does not use his size to his advantage nearly enough, and he’s prone to taking entire shifts, periods, games and weeks off with lazy efforts. Maybe Pat Quinn can get through to him and tap his potential but until he does he will be welcome here on the All-Overpaid Team.

- Ryan Smyth ($6.25 million)

Ryan Smyth is one of my favorite NHL players and has been for a long time. I love the way he plays the game and the sacrifices he’s willing to make for his team. But $6.25 million a year for a guy that averages 58 points a year? That seems like a bit much to me.

Total spent on left wings: $21 million

Right Wingers:

- Brian Rolston ($5.062 million)

Rolston’s salary is an example of paying a guy for what he’s done and not what he will do. He used to be a great scorer for the Wild but last year he put up just 32 points in 64 games with the Devils and at 36 years old I don’t think his best years are ahead of him. (By the way, he made more than $158,000 per point last year! Think about that the next time you get your paycheck).

- Joffrey Lupul ($4.25 million)

Lupul is a good young player but he’s fairly one-dimensional and he seems to be settling into a career as a second line winger. He’s only scored 50 points twice in his career and has never reached 30 goals in a season. When you’re one-dimensional you’d better be really good at that one dimension and Lupul is not. He’s good, but not great, and he’s not worth $4.25 million a year in my opinion.

- Pavol Demitra ($4 million)

Like Rolston, Demitra is being paid for what he’s done. However, getting paid $4 million for 20 goals and 53 points is a bit excessive. He’s not the most overpaid on this team, and might be one of the players that least deserves to be here, but he’s here none-the-less.

- Jonathan Cheechoo ($3 million)

We all know that Cheechoo once scored 56 goals in a season but we also all know that he’s become a shell of his former self offensively. I don’t care what role he was asked to play for the Sharks last season he put up 29 points in 66 games and is part of the elusive “$100,000 per point” club. He’s got a new chance in Ottawa and perhaps he can find his scoring touch. If he does, he could play his way off this team.

Total spent on right wings: $16.312 million

Defenseman:

- Jeff Finger ($3.5 million)

Finger could be the captain of the overpaid team. I remember when it was announced that he had signed a four-year, $14 million deal last summer my first reaction was, “Who?” Finger did nothing to prove the doubters wrong last season and could very well be the most expensive healthy scratch in the NHL this season. I’m still not sure what Finger does well but I know for sure that he’s not worth $3.5 million a season.

- Rob Scuderi ($3.4 million)

Scuderi had a phenomenal Game 7 against the Red Wings last year and he’s a big reason the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. However, he’s a defensive defenseman who blocked 164 shots last season - and that’s a nice number, but it’s more than 100 less than the 271 blocked shots that the Coyotes Zbynek Michalek had last season. Anyone think Michalek is worth $3.4 million a year? Me either. Scuderi was a +23 last season but he was also a -18 four years ago and is a +13 in his career so I’d say that was a bit of an aberration last year. A defensive defenseman coming off a career year and a Stanley Cup championship are frequently overpaid and Scuderi is no different.

- Wade Redden ($6.5 million)

Redden could play his way off of this team if he has a good season but based on last year he’s a no-brainer for this squad. $6.5 million bought the Rangers three goals, 26 points and a -5 rating. Woof. There are 68 other defenseman that scored as many, or more, points as Redden did last season including our old friend Zbynek Michalek. (I’m actually making a great case for Michalek to be given a sizable raise!) But at least Redden came through with 99 hits last season - good for 166^th in the league. Welcome to the squad, Wade, practice begins at 10am.

- Kim Johnsson ($4.85 million)

Johnsson and Redden are two peas in a pod as both got paid a lot of money to put up similar numbers last season. Johnsson had two goals and 24 points last year and was a -3 on a team coached by Jacques Lemaire with a Vezina Trophy finalist in net behind him. Woof. In his three years with the Wild Johnsson has averaged three goals and 24 points per season and is a -11. Johnsson is a UFA after this season and my guess is that he’ll be taking a paycut.

- Andrej Meszaros ($4 million)

Having already spent $18.25 million on my first four defenseman I was feeling good about my squad but I wanted to add a couple of more names to really round out the group and see if we couldn’t get that number up over $20 million. Enter Andrej Meszaros! Meszaros had some injury problems last year and only played in 52 games but in those games he put up two goals and 16 points. Projected out over an 82 game season that’s equivalent to three goals and 22 assists. Sound familiar? If not, go read the comments about Wade Redden and Kim Johnsson again. Having an offensive defenseman score less than five goals and 30 points a season is a sign you have a bad offensive defenseman. The All-Overpaid Team now has three such players.

- Mike Komisarek ($4.5 million)

I gave thought to giving this last spot to Andy Sutton ($3 million) or Ruslan Salei ($3.025 million) but in the end it was too tough to pass up Mike Komisarek and his $4.5 million salary. Komisarek is the 88^th highest paid player in the NHL which doesn’t sound too impressive until you think about it. If you took the top three players from each team that would be 90 players and I doubt Komisarek would make that group. Yet, he’s among the 90 highest paid players in the league. Komisarek is a good player and he’s big but $4.5 million should be reserved for very good, if not great, defensive defenseman. He brings very little offense to the team and is not exactly a shut-down defenseman when it comes to neutralizing the other teams’ top players. I would also argue that Francois Beauchemin, his new teammate with the Leafs, is the better defenseman of the two and yet Beauchemin makes $700,000 less and got two less years on his deal.

Total spent on defense: $26.75 million

Goalies:

- Cristobal Huet ($5.625 million)

Paying a 34-year old goalie who has never started more than 42 games in a season, never won more than 21 games in a season and who has a career playoff record of 6-10 with a 2.73 GAA in the postseason, over $5 million a year is ridiculous.

- Ilya Bryzgalov ($4.25 million)

Bryzgalov was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes and then signed a big contract after a decent season with them. Last year was a step back as he was 26-31-6 with a 2.98 GAA. Jose Theodore was considered for this spot but when you have a Hart Trophy and a Vezina Trophy on your mantle you get the benefit of the doubt.

Total spent on goalie: $9.875 million

Total spent on entire 20-man roster: $97.844 million (a mere $41.044 million over the salary cap!)

And what do I get for that money? Not one player scored 60 points last season - not one player had 30 goals last season and my goalies are average, at best. This is a roster that only Glen Sather could love.

So what do you think? Do you agree with these picks? Think a player that’s on my team should be off of it? Think a player not on my team should be on it? What about your picks? Who would you select for your All-Overpaid Team? Post your thoughts for all of us to enjoy and discuss.

This past summer there’s been a lot of talk about which markets do and do not deserve an NHL franchise. That got me thinking about a project and it’s one that I’d like to get you involved with as well. Here’s the deal:

Imagine you were starting the NHL from scratch and could put a team in any city you wanted. Where would you place the 30 franchises? You can put them in any North American city you want and you don’t have to worry about Divisions, Conferences or anything else - simply focus on which cities and areas you would give an NHL franchise. Please post your thoughts here for all of us to see and discuss and if you can please include a brief note explaining your reasoning and whether you were seeking growth, exposure, fan base, etc. I look forward to seeing what all of you think and hope we can get a good dialogue going.

When considering where to put the 30 NHL franchises I wanted to do three things - expose the game to as many people and regions as possible, bring the game to fans that grow up playing the game while at the same time maintaining tradition.

Let’s start with the tradition and the Original Six cities - they all get to keep their teams:

Toronto, New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago and Montreal

Now let’s move on to exposing the game to as many regions and people as possible. Here’s a list of other cities that currently have NHL franchises and who deserve to keep them:

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, Buffalo, Vancouver,  St. Louis, Ottawa, Columbus, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, Atlanta, Phoenix, Tampa Bay and Charlotte

As you can see I’ve kept the six current Canadian teams and have two teams in California. I think that’s enough for California to be honest, one in Northern California and one in Southern California. I’ve also left the Lightning in Tampa Bay because it’s Central Florida, they have a Stanley Cup Championship and I think Florida deserves one team but not two of them.

You may think I’m crazy to leave a team in Phoenix and Atlanta but here’s my reasoning. First of all I said Phoenix, not Glendale. I believe that if the team were to play in downtown Phoenix they would draw much more fans and if they were given good ownership and a competent coach/GM they could thrive. There are a LOT of people in Phoenix and the Southwest area in general (10.34 million in Arizona, New Mexico and Las Vegas which would be the broadcast range of Coyotes home games) and I want them to have a team to root for and a reason to follow the NHL.

As for Atlanta, much of the same reasoning applies. The Thrashers have a gorgeous arena that is right in the heart of Atlanta so all they need now is some good teams and some time to develop fans. Atlanta is also the “capital of the South” so it’s vital to have an NHL team in that area to give fans throughout Georgia and the South a reason to watch and follow the NHL.

Then there’s Charlotte. The Hurricanes have a Stanley Cup Championship and they have a raucous fan base so I don’t want to take away their team but I do want to move it to Charlotte which has a larger population and, being on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina, allows both states to feel like the Hurricanes are their team.

That’s 24 teams total which means I still have six teams to place. That gives me plenty of opportunity to spread the game while also satisfying some new fans.

Let’s give some cities that don’t currently have an NHL team a franchise:

Seattle, Winnipeg and Memphis

Seattle is a natural to me. They were the first American city to win the Stanley Cup so they have a hockey history, they have a huge population in a gorgeous city, there’s a natural rivalry with the Canucks and the Pacific Northwest (in America) is completely unrepresented in the current NHL. Plus, now that the Sonics are in Oklahoma City there’s no competition for fans during the winter other than the Seahawks on Sundays so they will have the sports landscape and media to themselves!

Winnipeg is also a natural. They had the Jets, of course, and as you look at a map of Canada they are pretty much in the middle. There are currently teams in Western Canada and teams in Eastern Canada but no teams in the middle of Canada. Placing a team in Winnipeg fixes that and, “makes it seven”.

Memphis gets a team because, again, I am interested in exposing the game to as many regions and people as possible. Nashville is a fine city but Memphis is located near the border of both Arkansas and Mississippi so you can expose the sport to three states at once. The total population of those states is 12 million (more than 1/3^rd the population of Canada) and that’s enough to warrant having a team. If you can turn on a potential 12 million fans to your sport and give them a reason to watch, follow, attend or play your sport you should do it.

I should point out that I believe the teams in Phoenix, Columbus, Dallas, Memphis, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Seattle should play a handful of home games in other cities each year. The Green Bay Packers used to always play a couple of home games in Milwaukee and I’d like to see each of these teams do something similar. Have a game in Houston, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Nashville, Little Rock, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Raleigh and Portland. Let the fans throughout your region see the team at least once a year to experience the game in person. We all know that hockey is at its best when you are at the arena so let’s take the game to those people at least once a year to show them how great this sport is. I’d also like to see the AHL teams for these franchises be located in their areas. There’s no reason the Coyotes AHL team can’t be in Albuquerque, the Stars affiliate in Oklahoma City, the Seattle affiliate in Portland, etc.

Back to the placement of the teams, though, as I still have three to place. Looking at my map of North America I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got as far as representation throughout North America so I’ve accomplished my goal of bringing the game to as many regions and people as possible. Now it’s a matter of satisfying the fans that are passionate about the sport which means I am going to place the following teams:

Hamilton, New York (Long Island), Washington D.C.

Alright, Hamilton - you’ve got your team. That gives Canada eight teams which should be plenty. We also put a team back on Long Island since an area of over 18 million people deserves two teams, and the Islanders have a nice hockey history that is just waiting to be resurrected. The final team goes in the Capital of America - Washington D.C. The Capitals have a nice history, a strong fan base and a huge potential to grow into one of the strongest NHL teams in the league.

Here, then, are my Conferences & Divisions:

Conference #1:

Pacific:

Vancouver, Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles and Phoenix

Midwest:

Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Denver and Dallas

North:

Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Minnesota

Conference #2

Northeast:

Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo

South:

Florida, Carolina, Atlanta, Memphis and St. Louis

Atlantic:

Boston, NY Rangers, NY Islanders, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

If you haven’t already seen the hit that Kings prospect Colten Teubert put on Bruins prospect Jordan Caron during a recent Junior Team Canada scrimmage take a look at it by clicking on this link.

Now that you’ve seen it I ask you - was that hit clean or dirty? Do those kinds of hits belong in a intrasquad scrimmage or not? Eddie and I will be discussing this on the show this week (August 15th episode) so I’ll save my comments for that but I am interested to hear what you think and we may read your comments on the air as well.

On April 27^th of this year the San Jose Sharks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Finals after just six games. After a regular season that saw them win the President’s Trophy for having compiled the most points of any NHL team, after winning 53 of 82 regular season games, the Sharks season was over in the first round of the playoffs. It was only the fifth time since 1968 that the league’s top seed had been eliminated in the first round.

Fans in San Jose were justifiably outraged, as were members of the Sharks front office. Two days after their season had ended Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson had this to say to the media:

“The frustration is overwhelming. We owe an apology to our fans and our ownership. Everything will be evaluated. There’s nothing that’s off the table. This is going to be a tough, painful summer, and it should be. Every one of us should feel uncomfortable. There comes a time when this group needs to grow up and deal with what’s in front of them.”

Wilson did not go into specifics as to what he would do over the summer and mentioned that he would need time “to conduct the autopsy”. He did make it clear that while there was nothing “off the table” he had no intention of replacing head coach Todd McLellan.

With the head coach safe and with the GM apologizing and insinuating that his players were immature much of the focus fell onto the Sharks three marquee players - Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov. Even head coach Todd McLellan chimed in with criticism of the big three:

“The team hasn’t succeeded with them driving the bus. That doesn’t mean they can’t do it, but I think the questions grow every year that you don’t succeed.”

In the Sharks case that means that the questions are growing to giant proportions. In the last four years the Sharks have won two Pacific Division titles, averaged 107 points per season and compiled a regular season record of 197-94-37. Over that same time they’ve had a Hart Trophy winner (league MVP), an Art Ross Trophy winner (league scoring champ), a Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner (most goals) and a President’s Trophy. But in the playoffs following those four years they have been eliminated in the second round three times and eliminated in the first round once. Their combined record in the playoffs the last four years is 20-21.

Had this first round exit happened to any other NHL team the reaction might not have been so angry. But, in San Jose it’s become a case where regular season success receives very little fanfare because many fans are now waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s gotten to the point where the President’s Trophy means virtually nothing to the fans because it was followed almost immediately by another early exit from the postseason.

So after all this it was expected that we would see big changes made to the Sharks roster this summer. Many people guessed that team captain Patrick Marleau would be traded in order to give the team a new captain, new leadership and some much-needed cap space in order to pursue other players. Others guessed that goalie Evgeni Nabokov would be dealt in favor of a more proven playoff goalie like Nikolai Khabibulin. One thing everyone agreed on, though, was that changes were needed and changes were coming.

It is now July 14^th and as of this writing, no significant changes have been made. The Sharks have not made one single trade since being eliminated by the Ducks and are one of just three NHL teams (Detroit and Nashville are the others) that have yet to sign a single free agent that was not already on their roster.

The only changes that have happened in San Jose thus far are departures of back-ups and role players. Back-up goalie Brian Boucher signed with Philadelphia and third line grinder Travis Moen signed with Montreal. In addition to that fourth line winger Claude Lemieux retired and fellow fourth line forward Jeremy Roenick is debating retirement. Meanwhile three players have been re-signed by the Sharks - defensemen Kent Huskins and Rob Blake and forward Ryan Clowe. At the draft the Sharks had no first round draft pick and made no trades of consequence.

So where are the changes? Where is the shake-up? Has Wilson finished his autopsy and concluded that his roster still has some life in it?

If the Sharks are to go into next season having made only minor changes to their roster, no changes to their teams leadership and no changes to the coaching staff…why would anyone expect different results? We all know that this Sharks team is capable of dominating the regular season. We also know that this Sharks team is capable of folding like a wet taco in the playoffs. When the eighth seeded team in the Conference, a team that barely made it into the postseason to begin with, can bounce you out in the first round despite the fact that you have home ice advantage and sported a 32-5-4 record on home ice in the regular season I believe you need to do more than change the back-up goalie and get a new forward for your third and fourth lines.

The NHL entry draft has come and gone. The free agency period is concluding its second full week tomorrow and all impact players are long gone. The window of opportunity for Wilson to make dramatic and meaningful changes to his roster has all but closed.

While it is still possible for Wilson to make a trade to ship out a veteran or bring in a key player the market for such trades is drying up. Most teams have already made trades or signed free agents to fill in their rosters and no longer have the need, or the room under the cap, to take on a large salary. Even fewer teams are looking to shed talent right now so the Sharks could be hard pressed to find players worth trading for.

Making life even tougher for Wilson is the salary cap, but that’s a problem he brought on himself. As it stands right now the Sharks have already got 16 skaters and one goalie under contract for $55.5 million and only have $1.6 million left under the salary cap. Perhaps most baffling is the defensive corps where Wilson has mysteriously signed seven veterans to deals of $1.7 million per year or more. With only six defensive spots to fill the Sharks are assuring themselves of having one of the highest paid healthy scratches in the league every single night unless they make a trade but again, few teams have the cap space or the need to take on a high priced defenseman right now.

Doug Wilson is obviously a very smart man when it comes to running a hockey team and there’s no doubt that he has a plan for this franchise. However, if going into this season with the same cast of characters that failed on such an epic level last season is his plan then I cannot see how he expects to enjoy any more success the second time around. Maybe they get past the first round this year, maybe they even make it into the Conference Finals. But after four years of dominating in the regular season and flopping in the postseason, would that be enough? Would anything other than a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals be enough to call the Sharks season a success? And if this group was unable to beat the eighth seeded Ducks three months ago what makes anyone think that they would be capable of making a run to the Finals the following season?

As it stands now Doug Wilson has simply picked up where his players left off in late April. He is dropping the ball and letting down the fans, and ownership, of the Sharks. I simply see no reason to believe that this Sharks team will suddenly find the ability to win in the postseason and realize their potential. Unless Wilson is able to make some meaningful changes to the roster before opening night I believe that he will either apologize once again for an early playoff exit or he will be dusting off his resume and packing his office.

July 1^st represents the start of free agency - a time when all 30 teams are able to go shopping for free agents to fill their rosters in an attempt to build the best team possible entering the 2009-2010 season. All 30 teams have holes to fill, and all have money to spend. Some, though, will have to spend more than others to get players to sign with them.There are about 11 teams, just over 1/3 of the entire league, who simply cannot get elite players to sign with them as free agents.

The reasons each team struggle to attract free agents vary but the end result is the same - players simply don’t want to play for them. I believe those teams to be (in alphabetical order) Atlanta, Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Nashville, NY Islanders, Phoenix and Tampa Bay. As a result those teams are forced to either acquire talent via trade or to overpay to get players to sign with them.

There is anecdotal evidence that each of those teams can recruit and sign marquee free agents and I’m sure fans of those 11 teams will point to the signing of Sheldon Souray, Rob Scuderi, Mattias Ohlund, Paul Kariya and others as proof. I believe those to be the exceptions to the norm and would contend that, in most cases, the teams paid more than market value to get those players under contract.

The Oilers are a curious case. This is a team that has been rejected by numerous NHL stars over the past few years. It began with Chris Pronger demanding a trade less than a month after helping Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Then Ryan Smyth was traded away and signed with the Colorado Avalanche the following summer. Then Marian Hossa turned down a lucrative offer to instead play for the Red Wings and, most recently, Dany Heatley refused to waive his no-trade clause two separate times despite claiming to want out of Ottawa. Those are all elite NHL players and none of them wanted to play in Edmonton. Why?

In the case of most of the teams I listed the teams’ location in a non-traditional hockey market, lack of on-ice success and/or lack of an ownership committed to winning is to blame for the franchise struggling to recruit talent via free agency. After all, if you were a star player who could play for any team in the league would you choose to play in Phoenix? Or Atlanta? Neither would I.

But in the case of Edmonton they’ve got a great tradition of winning in the NHL, they’ve got a rabid fan base that supports the team 100% and they’ve got owners committed to brining the Stanley Cup back to the City of Champions. So why are players so reluctant to play there?

The salary cap has helped these teams acquire talent if only because the elite teams and the teams with deep pockets can no longer stockpile star players. Is there any doubt that the Red Wings would have re-signed Marian Hossa had there not been a salary cap? Or would Pittsburgh have re-signed him the year before?

There’s very little the NHL can do to change the fact that free agents do not even consider over one-third of the league when it comes to free agency but it does take  a lot of the drama out of July 1^st. When you know that no matter how badly those 11 teams need to add a star player they are not going to sign anyone significant it makes things a lot less interesting. It’s kind of like being a Jewish kid on Christmas and watching the other kids open their presents while realizing that there are none for you. Or, if there is one, it’s a hand-me-down.

It also keeps those teams from improving themselves and moving from the bottom of the league to the top which would, conceivably, help them attract more players in the future. Many people claim that teams simply have to draft better but when teams like the Panthers watch Jay Bouwmeester, their first round draft choice in 2002, leave town the first chance he gets and see him be replaced by Jordan Leopold it’s tough to see a way that they can ever become an elite franchise regardless of how well they draft. The same is true in Buffalo where the Sabres had to watch both Daniel Briere and Chris Drury leave town the same summer.

Again, there is no solution to this problem - at least not one that I know of - but it is a problem that is affecting over one-third of the league. Teams in non-traditional hockey markets will have a tough time gaining die hard fans when they are constantly losing players in their prime and fighting for the bottom couple of spots in the playoffs. One year of excellence followed by years of mediocrity is not enough for most fans which means the team suffers at the box office which affects their budget which affects their ability to sign or retain star players and the cycle continues.

I am curious if any of you can see a way that teams like Atlanta, Florida, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Nashville, Columbus, Carolina or Tampa Bay can ever become an elite franchise for an extended period of time? If so please post your thoughts or ideas here for all of us to read and discuss.

As you heard on the June 20th episode of the Puck Podcast I was able to attend the 2009 NHL Awards Show as a member of the media. Here are some of the interviews I was able to get - there are some great moments and I hope you enjoy them.

Before the show I was able to talk with all three Calder Trophy finalists. Let’s start with the man that ended up taking home the trophy, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason - who was also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy:

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I then talked with Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan:

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After that it was time to talk with Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg:

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The Norris Trophy was one of the most competitive awards given out this year and before the show I talked with Detroit Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom:

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After the show I talked with the Norris Trophy winner, Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who had referenced in his acceptance speech that he was cut from many hockey teams growing up:

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Before the show I talked with Jack Adams Trophy finalist and St. Louis Blues head coach Andy Murray:

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Before the show I also got a chance to talk with Bill Masterton Trophy winner and Nashville Predators forward Steve Sullivan:

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After the show I spoke with King Clancy Trophy winner and Edmonton Oilers forward Ethan Moreau:

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Finally, I saved the best for last. After the show I was one of many people that was able to talk with Hart & Lester B. Pearson Trophy winner and Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin:

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Well, here is the first of my weekly Wednesday blog postings. Unfortunately my NHL Year in Review is not yet completed so that will have to wait until next week. Until then I thought I would let you know about my trip to Las Vegas for the NHL Awards Show.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman takes a lot of criticism for the way he runs the league, and much of it is deserved, but this time he has earned some kudos. While I am still not thrilled with the way the league promotes the Award Show the event itself is shaping up to be a classic.

Las Vegas is a great city to host something that is supposed to be a fun and celebratory look back at the year that was. There are so many things for the players, fans, media and team staff to do while they are here and there are also a lot of opportunities for fans to interact with their favorite players. In the short time I spent walking around the Palms Casino I saw Globe & Mail reporter Eric Duhatschek, CBC analyst/former NHL goalie Kelly Hrudey, Hurricanes head coach Paul Maurice and Capitals General Manager George McPhee.  I’m sure if I had stuck around for more than 15 minutes I would have seen many others as well and it was clear that any fans who cared to look around would have had many opportunities for autographs, pictures and discussion.

I’m not much for gambling but for those that are there’s the opportunity to see many NHL players, coaches and staff at the Palms Casino. How cool would it be to get the chance to shoot some dice or play some blackjack with an NHL player? And just a guess, but I’ll bet there will be a few NHL players at the at the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino the next two nights.

I have never been to Toronto, the former home of the NHL Awards Show, but I cannot imagine a better city in North America to host this event. The only thing that would be better than this, and I hate to give this idea away, would be to have this show on a cruise ship. If the NHL could take over an entire cruise ship and the only people on board were NHL employees, players, coaches, front office staff from all 30 teams, media and NHL fans - well, that would be awesome. I wouldn’t even care where the boat was going. With a theater capable of hosting the show, a casino, multiple bars and dance clubs, a spa, a fitness center, multiple pools, award winning food, a movie theater and a kids center it would have everything you could want. I know at least one cruise ship has a skating rink on board and if the NHL were to take the Awards Show to that boat the fans on board could have the chance to skate with their favorite players!

But I digress. Tomorrow is the actual Awards Show and with a red carpet entrance there will be yet another chance for fans to see and interact with their favorite players. The NHL has brought their best players to Las Vegas and there’s no better place on earth for an NHL fan to be right now. If you missed it this year you can make it a point to be here in either 2010 or 2011 when the NHL Awards Show returns to Sin City. I’ll be here and even though this trip is far from over I am already looking forward to next year. Bravo, Mr. Bettman , bravo.

Those of you who are long-time listeners of the Puck Podcast may remember that I used to do a Ducks blog for another hockey website and that through the years I’ve had posted blogs sporadically here on my page. As a writer at heart I’ve missed blogging and the discussions that it can create. As the traffic on our website has increased and the discussions in our forums has followed suit I decided it would be a perfect time to begin blogging more often so that’s just what I intend to do.

As I mentioned on the June 13^th episode of the Puck Podcast I will be posting a NHL Year In Review blog on Wednesday, June 17^th. However, when I got home from recording the podcast I realized that I couldn’t wait that long to start blogging again so I sat down at the computer and began to write. What came out is below but before I get to that I want to let you know a couple of things.

First, I encourage your feedback. I love talking hockey and I understand that many of you will disagree with my opinions on one topic or another. That’s fine. In fact, that’s great. Please click on the “Leave a Comment” button at the top of this post and let me know what you think. Second, I hope you will become a regular visitor. Beginning with my NHL Year In Review blog I intend to post a blog every Wednesday. The blog will be a place for me to post thoughts, links, and observations of the NHL and will act as a supplement to the Puck Podcast which Eddie and I will continue to record every single Saturday all year long.

So, without further ado, here’s a look at the questions I find most intriguing as the NHL’s offseason begins:

1. Where will the Phoenix Coyotes play?

We all know the details concerning the Phoenix Coyotes and their potential sale/relocation to Hamilton, Ontario. The only left to determine is…everything. We still have no idea who will own the team, where they will play, what they will be called much less what they will do to improve their roster. While the other 29 teams are focusing on things like the draft and free agency the Coyotes have much more important things to figure out before they concern themselves with actually building a roster that fans in either Phoenix or Hamilton would care to see play.

If you’re a regular listener of the Puck Podcast then you know that I am against relocation of NHL franchises in general. I wasn’t happy to see the North Stars, Jets, Nordiques, or Whalers move because I believe the fans in each of those cities deserved better. The NHL corrected their mistake by putting a team back in Minnesota but Quebec, Hartford and Winnipeg are still without an NHL franchise and in the case of Quebec are still without so much as an AHL team to support. I would hate to see the same happen to Phoenix. Say what you will about the fan support, or lack thereof, of the Coyotes the fact is that there are many diehard fans of that team in the Phoenix area and they do not deserve to go from being an NHL city one day to being an ECHL city the next.

Instead what I’d like to see is the NHL continue their commitment to the 30 NHL teams we have now and to let the sport grow in each community. If you take a look at a map of North America and put pins in each NHL city you will see that fans throughout the continent have an NHL team in their region to cheer for and/or support. That also means that NHL games will be on television in their area and that they will have a chance to see the sport on a regular basis. That’s a great thing and one that would be lost if the Coyotes were to move. It would be one thing if we were talking about the Devils, Senators, Rangers or Islanders - those teams could move and the fans in those areas would still have a team within a reasonable distance to support.

But if the Coyotes move who are the people in Arizona and New Mexico (the broadcast area of Fox Sports Arizona) to cheer for? That’s 8.5 million people, one-fourth the population of Canada, who would no longer have an NHL team in their area to support and watch and that’s a huge market the NHL would be losing out on. The NHL would gain zero fans by moving to Hamilton but they would lose 8.5 million potential fans by leaving Phoenix. That’s how I look at it and that’s, I’m sure, how the NHL looks at it. It has nothing to do with who deserves the team more and has everything to do with making the NHL accessible to as many people as possible.

For that reason I hope the Coyotes stay in Phoenix. We saw the Penguins come close to moving due to financial problems and now they’re the Stanley Cup Champions. Could the same happen to the Coyotes? There’s only one way to find out.

2. Who will the Devils, Wild and Flames hire as their Head Coach?

I’ll start with the Calgary Flames for no reason other than I have a gut instinct on what will happen with them. I believe that Darryl Sutter will name himself as the head coach of the Flames for the 2009-2010 season and then, a year from now when Brent Sutter’s contract with the Devils expires, he will step down as coach and hire his brother. I base that solely on the vibe I get from reading the articles coming out of Calgary.

I’m very curious to see who Minnesota hires as their head coach and wondering why it is taking so long. My instinct tells me that they were waiting to hire someone that is currently an assistant coach with either the Penguins or the Red Wings and since Wild GM Chuck Fletcher came from the Penguins I would lean that direction. The Penguins assistant coaches under Dan Bylsma are Mike Yeo and Tom Fitzgerald. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see one of those two men introduced as the next head coach of the Minnesota Wild but we shall see.

As for the Devils, I have no idea what Lou Lamiorello will do but I know that whoever he hires should rent and not buy. Since July 13, 2005 the Devils have made five coaching changes.  Five coaching changes in less than four years is what I like to call volatile and there’s no reason for me to think that the next guy is going to be around for long.

3. Who will the Panthers hire as their General Manager?

As I write this the NHL draft is 13 days away and yet the Florida Panthers are still looking for a General Manager. That’s not good. They need to make a hire so that whoever it is can at least introduce himself to his staff before he sits down to draft the future of the franchise. I realize that Jacques Martin left the team less than two weeks ago but the Panthers do not have the luxury of taking their time making this hire. Time is of the essence here and the sooner they make their hire the better.

I’ve heard that former Wild GM Doug Risebrough is a candidate and if he is the one that gets hired he will bring former Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire along with him as a consultant. If that is what happens then good for the Panthers. The Wild were always a good team, never a great one, but always a good one and for a franchise that hasn’t seen the playoffs in nine years I would think they would be thrilled with stepping up to good for a while.

4. Who will the Islanders take with 1^st overall pick in the draft?

The Islanders need help at every position so they really can’t go wrong here. Whether they pick Jonathan Tavares or Victor Hedman they will be getting a stud prospect to help turn them into a playoff contender. I am curious to see what direction Islanders GM Garth Snow, a former goalie, will go. Will he go for the forward that can score goals or the defenseman that can keep them out of his own net? If I were him I’d go with Tavares but then again a part of me is saying that simply because I’d like to see the Lightning get Hedman. Stamkos + Hedman = good future for Tampa Bay.

5. Where will Marian Hossa go?

In the June 13^th episode of the Puck Podcast I compared Marian Hossa to Paul Kariya and along those lines it’ll be very interesting to see where Hossa ends up. Will he return to the Red Wings? Can they afford him? Will he go to the highest bidder in free agency? If so, who would step up and meet his price? I can’t wait to find out because despite what some bitter Penguins fans claim Hossa is still one of the best forwards in the sport and I believe 29 NHL teams (all but the Penguins) would love to have him on their roster come October.

6. Where will Dany Heatley go?

As Eddie and I discussed in the June 13^th episode of the Puck Podcast Senators forward Dany Heatley has requested a trade. So far the Senators seem willing to oblige him, which I think is a mistake, and if they do move him I’m very interested to see where he ends up. What team would be willing to take on a very talented, but clearly immature, star player with five-years remaining on his contract? Whatever team trades for Heatley will be on the hook for a $7.5 million cap hit in each of the next five years and that’s a lot to pay for a guy that has now quit on two different franchises. Heatley is a very good player but if I were a GM I would want nothing to do with him. I can’t wait to see which GM rolls the dice and brings him aboard.

7. Will the Lightning trade Vincent Lecavalier?

I’m stunned that this is even an option for the Lightning. Less than a year ago the Lightning signed Vincent Lecavalier to an 11-year contract extension and now they are thinking about trading him? This less than seven months after they fired Barry Melrose who was a whopping 16 games into his tenure as their head coach. Exactly how wishy-washy is this franchise?

If they do decide to trade Lecavalier they’d better get a helluva return for him. Vincent isn’t just a star player - I’d compare him to Mario Lemieux. He has already helped bring a Stanley Cup to Tampa and has donated millions of dollars to local charities and is literally the best thing that ever happened to that franchise. He does not deserve to be dealt less than a year after he agreed an 11-year contract and if he is traded I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the fans revolt and I would not blame NHL players for crossing Tampa Bay off their list of places they’d be willing to play. If Lecavalier is dealt before July 1^st, when his no-trade clause will kick in, then the Lightning ownership group will claim the title as the biggest clowns in the entire league.

Teemu Selanne’s press conference after the Ducks 4-0 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of their Western Conference Quarterfinals series.

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Here’s the situation: The Flyers and Penguins were tied 4-4 with less than three minutes to play in regulation. The Penguins chipped the puck into the Flyers zone and Flyers goalie Martin Biron made a series of horrible decisions. Take a look:

Biron - what the heck were you thinking? Why leave the crease? Why come out beyond the face-off circles? Why try to flip the puck behind your back? Why skate so casually back towards your crease? What the heck were you thinking?

It’s become public knowledge that the New York Rangers are interested in bringing NHL bad boy Sean Avery back for a second stint on Broadway after surviving for less than two months of his four year deal in Dallas. So much for the idea that if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere.

The process the Rangers would have to go through has been well documented here on FOXSports.com by Larry Brooks of the New York Post and the first step, Dallas placing Sean Avery on waivers, has been completed which appears to signify that the wheels are already in motion. The next step would be to assign Avery to the Rangers AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, for a two week conditioning assignment. After that, and assuming he’s received his official release from the NHL/NHLPA behavioral health program, Avery would be recalled by the Stars which would subject him to re-entry waivers. This is where the plan hits a snag.

At that point Avery and the Rangers would have to wait to see if any other team with a waiver priority higher than theirs put in a claim. The waiver priority list is set by the reverse order of the current standings, and despite the Rangers best effort of late (see their 10-2 loss to the Stars) there will still be at least 15, and possibly as many as 20, teams that would have to pass on Avery for the Rangers to have a chance to claim him.

Many have said that this will not be a problem, but I disagree. I think it’s foolish to think that the Rangers are the only NHL team interested in adding Sean Avery to their roster. Avery is under contract through the 2011-2012 season and any team that claimed him on re-entry waivers would only be responsible for half of his $4 million annual salary over the next three seasons. Two million a year for a guy that possesses a rare combination of grit, attitude, scoring ability and annoyance - not to mention a marquee status as one of the most recognizable names in the entire sport? Why wouldn’t an NHL team be interested in that?

Some point to the claim that Avery is a locker room cancer. However, the Rangers had him for 86 regular season games and two playoff runs and they are now desperate to get him back. Rangers head coach Tom Renney called Avery “a great teammate.” Rangers team captain Chris Drury said that Avery “literally played his guts out for us.” Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist described Avery as “a great player.” Clearly the Rangers would welcome Avery back which would indicate that the claims he is unable to get along with his teammates have been greatly exaggerated.

Yes, he was not welcomed in Dallas but that doesn’t mean all 30 teams would reject him. If he was able to make it work with the Rangers, why couldn’t he do it with another team? Is there any other NHL team that would be willing to take that chance?

I contend that there’s one team that should absolutely take that chance - the New York Islanders.

What would the Islanders have to lose by claiming Avery? They would add a talented player, something they desperately need, they would prevent the Rangers (their bitter rivals) from getting him, they would get some headlines and some much needed national attention and they would take a step towards establishing some sort of team identity.

If Avery did prove to be a problem in the locker room, would it matter to the Islanders? They are already the worst team in the NHL - by far - so how, exactly, would fans be able to tell that Avery was having a detrimental effect on the team? If things got untenable in the Islanders locker room they could always call up the Rangers to make a trade - after all, Rangers GM Glen Sather has made it clear how badly he wants Avery so perhaps he’d be willing to give up a draft pick or two in order to get him.

The Islanders current captain is Bill Guerin, another player with a checkered past in regards to his ability to get along with his teammates (he once punched a teammate during practice while with the Stars) and goaltender Rick DiPietro got into a fight with then teammate Arron Asham during a practice a two years ago. Sounds like Avery would fit right in, eh!

The risk/reward ratio seems to heavily favor the reward side with regards to the Islanders claiming Avery. It’s a move that makes sense to their on-ice product, their marketing, their NHL profile and in their rivalry with the Rangers. Maybe it makes too much sense for the Islanders to pull the trigger. After all, they didn’t get to be the worst team in the league by making good moves.

Kings defenseman Denis Gauthier has been suspended five games as a result of a hit he put on Montreal’s Josh Gorges on January 31st, 2009. You can see the hit here:

This is the third suspension for Gauthier. He was previously suspended two games for kneeing Vancouver’s Sami Salo back in 2003. Here’s what Todd Bertuzzi, then of the Canucks, had to say about that play: “He (Gauthier) has been way over the line for how long? That’s not how you play hockey; that’s dirt. Playing hockey is hitting guys clean, not going for knees and hurting people.”

I’ll have much more on this in this week’s episode of the Puck Podcast but I’m interested in your thoughts as well. Was the suspension fair? Should it have been shorter? Should it have been longer?

Here’s an exclusive interview with Ducks rookie Bobby Ryan after he scored the first rookie hat trick in franchise history and the fastest hat trick (2:21) in franchise history in the Ducks loss to the Kings on January 8, 2009.

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Here’s an exclusive interview with Ducks rookie Andrew Ebbett after he scored his first career NHL goal in the Ducks loss to the Flyers on January 2nd, 2009.

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So…Brian Burke has stepped down as the General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks and is now free to go and work for any other NHL team. This has happened just months after Burke told the media repeatedly that he wanted to work for the Ducks as long as the ownership would have him - and then he turned down their contract extension. The Ducks ownership still wants you, Brian, so why are you not here? What changed? Oh, that’s right, your family suddenly became the most important thing in your life.

The family issue is, to me, a smoke screen. That’s the reason Burke gives to the media and the public so that he wouldn’t look like such a dick when he left the Ducks for the Leafs. The real reason he wants to work in Toronto is that he wants to be the GM of an Original Six franchise in THE center of the hockey universe. It’s ego, not family, that lured Burke to Toronto and it’s ego, not family, that will make him take the Leafs job and not the Bruins.

If it was really about family why wouldn’t he take the Bruins job? Then he could have his entire family in one area and could drive to see his kids and his grandkids whenever he wanted. He could have his kids and grandkids at practices with him - at games with him. He would have it all - including being the GM of an Original Six franchise that is starving for a Championship. Remember, Burke was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island - the home of the Bruins farm team and just a train ride away from Boston itself. If Burke’s lack of interest in staying with the Ducks is truly about family then what could be better than to return to his hometown to be the head of the Boston Bruins?

If it was really about family then why did Brian Burke spend the last 10 years working for the Vancouver Canucks and the Anaheim Ducks? Did his family not matter to him then? He had a job with the NHL working in New York but he left it to take over as GM of the Canucks? Apparently living close to his family didn’t matter much anymore.

But it’s not about family - it’s about ego. Anaheim and the media out here did not stroke Burke’s ego enough. There weren’t enough people asking for him to comment on things, not enough people telling him how great he was and not enough of the NHL folks seeing him at the rink. Anaheim is a great place for someone who wants to work and be left alone but it is a horrible place for a person that likes to be interviewed and talked about.

Let’s take a look at the timeline and some quotes regarding the rumors that Brian Burke would leave Anaheim for Toronto:

January 23^rd, 2008 - “Nothing’s going to change. My wife (Jennifer) and I love it in Anaheim. Our intention is to extend our deal and stay in Anaheim. We have a wonderful situation with the Samuelis. Our intention is to stay, unless and until they don’t want us. I have 17 months to go on my contract. I certainly don’t feel the Samuelis owe me anything now. This type of stuff - that’s how they are in Toronto. Don’t bet any money on Brian Burke going anywhere any time soon.”

Then, on February 29^th, reports came out that the Toronto Maple Leafs would offer Brian Burke the Predidency and General Manager’s job and that they would promise his wife a prominent job with a media organizations in Toronto.

Burke responded to this speculation on March 1^st: “I have no intention of going anywhere else. I’ve said this repeatedly to anyone who will listen. I’m not sure which part of it I’m not saying in English. We really love it in Anaheim. We work for special people there. We want to stay. I’m flattered by all the attention and that someone would think I’m the right guy for this, but I have a job that I love and I work for special people in the Samuelis. I’m not going anywhere.”

On April 22^nd reports surfaced about exactly how much the Leafs would offer Burke: “Five years, $25 million.” according to the Toronto Sun. Very shortly after those numbers came out Brian Burke’s stance changed from “I have no intention of going anywhere else” and “Our intention is to stay in Anaheim unless and until they don’t want us” to “I’m under contract for one more season here in Anaheim, that’s a fact. Unless or until I arrive upon terms of a contract extension here in Anaheim, I have no intention of further discussing my situation.”

The Toronto Sun attributed the information to “figures kicking around the hockey world.” Where would such figures come from? The Coyotes? The Flames? Maybe the Blue Jackets? They had to come from the Leafs and THAT IS TAMPERING! The Buffalo Sabres couldn’t tell John Vogl of the Buffalo News “we’re going to give Jay Bouwmeester a 5-year, $30 million contract offer this coming summer” and then have them write that in the paper attributed to an anonymous source. “League sources tell me that the Sabres may be interested in extending Panthers Jay Bouwmeester a contract offer to this coming offseason and that they could be willing to go as high as six-years, $30 million. Sabres GM Darcy Regier would not confirm these reports.” Don’t you think that would influence Bouwmeester’s negotiations with the Panthers on a contract extension? Wouldn’t Bouwmeester and his agent know that all they had to do was wait until July 1st to sign that deal? Don’t you think that’s exactly what the Leafs did by leaking information about what they were willing to offer Burke? It’s tampering, flat out.

Commissioner Gary Bettman, in his state of the league address, said that “If there’s tampering going on, ultimately there are no secrets in this world. We will get to the bottom of it. And I’m no fan of tampering. And when it happens, it gets punished severely. A team that meddles with an individual under contract could face heavy fines and the loss of draft picks.” Well, Mr. Commissioner, tampering has gone on so get to the bottom of it and deal out those heavy fines and/or loss of draft picks.

The day after that report was posted in the Toronto Sun Burke and the Ducks announced that he would stay with the team until his contract expired and would continue to talk about an extension. Around that time the Leafs also called off their search for a GM and said they’d stick with Cliff Fletcher as the interim GM instead. Notice they didn’t name him as the GM, they just stopped looking for his replacement. They also hired Brian Burke’s former college teammate, Ron Wilson, to be their head coach. Brian Burke’s wife, Jennifer, also quit her job as a television show host in Vancouver.

At that point we were left to wait for one of two things to happen: Either Brian Burke’s contract with the Ducks would expire or he would be released from it by the organization. As it turns out the latter happened on November 12^th which allows Brian Burke to go to Toronto to formally negotiate his contract. Because after all, it’s all about family for Brian Burke and what better chance to be with his family than to work for a team that is over 400 miles away from them and where the media will never stop requesting “just a few minutes of his time”?

Brian Burke’s a guy that gets a lot of credit for telling it like it is and being honest with players, fans and the media. But he’s flat out lied to the Ducks ownership, their fans and the media for months now. I believe that Burke wanted to work for the Ducks in 2005 because he couldn’t get another job and then, when he won the Cup in 2007, he knew he could write his own ticket with the team of his choice so he never signed an extension and instead waited for his contract to expire.

Burke’s legacy with the Ducks will be mixed - he was the GM that put together the first Stanley Cup Championship team in the history of the organization and in the history of California. He was also the guy that lied to them about his desire to continue working for the Ducks and then lied to them again about the reason he left the organization. Burke did not once tell it like it is in regards to his desires and intentions with the Ducks, and right now that’s what I remember about him. He lied to me, the Ducks ownership, the Ducks front office, the Ducks players and every other Ducks fan for months. Thanks for the Cup, Burke, now go tell your lies to the Leafs, their fans and their media and see if they swallow it. I will never believe another word that comes out of your mouth.

Here’s some bonus content from Doug that we did not have time to include on the November 1st, 2008 episode. You’ll hear Doug’s fantasy minute, games to watch and a power play on why the NHL having all 30 teams play on one day was a bad idea. 

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