The NHL season is only two weeks underway. Already, the makeovers have begun. A coach out. Roster spots forfeited. Promise realized, prior success not replicated. Let's take a look at some early developments.
NEW YORK
The New York Rangers are cruising. After two victories over Barry Melrose's Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic, the Blueshirts, sporting what the Associated Press called looks of weariness, came into their stateside season with four points and plenty of momentum. It's materialized into a league-best 13 points and strong play all around, from Brandon Dubinksy and Aaron Voros up front to Michal Rozsival on the back end. Netminder Stephen Valiquette has backed-up Henrik Lundqvist with number one-like stats: 2-0, 3 goals against on 49 shots, a 1.44 goals-against average (GAA), and .939 save percentage.
New York may have achieved the right balance of stealthy talent (Brandon Dubinsky, Dan Girardi) and stalwart superstars (Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury) that was so elusive in previous years. (Darius Kasparaitis, Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, Bobby Holik, anyone?) That's a very good position to be in — one likely to keep the ice frozen in Madison Square Garden come playoffs.
PHILADELPHIA
In Philadelphia, the troubles will go unnoticed only as long as the Phillies' run. Sam Carchidi, Flyers beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer agrees, "The Flyers should be grateful that the city has turned its attention toward the World Series-bound Phillies." And for good reason: after following up their worst performance in team history in 2006-2007 by reaching last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyguys are once again mopping the NHL basement with a league-worst 2 points. And those points came from overtime losses; unlike the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, whose measly 2 points came by wins over San Jose and Detroit, respectively, Philly is winless.
They blew 3-1 and 4-3 leads in the first game of a home-and-home against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, losing 5-4 on Dan Boyle's overtime goal. "It's tough to play catchup hockey all the time. That's one of the things we've talked about. We have to be ready right from the get-go," remarked Daniel Briere, who scored twice against the Sharks. "We can't let the other team set the tempo and then adjust to that."
What remains to be seen is how GM Paul Holmgren reacts should the team's slide steepen. Gone are the days of Bobby Clarke's swift, relatively volatile hand. But Holmgren will have to act soon if it continues.
Their offense, at least, has been stable. The Flyers are enjoying production from their top four guys: Briere, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, and Jeff Carter. But it hasn't been enough. A depleted defense — mediocre at best before injuries — has contributed to Philadelphia's 22 total goals against, second only to the Dallas Stars' 24. Substantial defensive responsibility has been placed on Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, Broad Street's top pairing. Losing d-men Ryan Parent and Randy Jones until Christmas has hurt, and Lasse Kukkonen has struggled with puck possession so much he lost his roster spot.
Holmgren recently dealt ECHL/AHL forward Ned Lukacevic and a conditional 2009 draft pick to the Boston Bruins for defensemen Andrew Alberts. Alberts' 6'5", 220-pound frame adds physicality to the back end. That he's in the final year of his contract could help as Alberts looks to secure his future on July 1, especially given that he's been described as "error-prone." (His $1.25 million salary gives Philly $2.7 million in cap space with its team salary now at $53.4 mil due to Parent, Jones, and Derian Hatcher being on the long-term IR.)
It remains to be seen if this will be enough. If not, Philly may have to part with a higher caliber player to compensate for a top-tier defenseman. If so, will Carter's name spin through yet another cycle of trade rumors?
CHICAGO
The Chicago Blackhawks, fresh from their first 40-win season in six years, but with no postseason games to tout, showed coach Denny Savard the door. A curious move after just four games? "It's about moving forward, about achieving and winning ... and we felt we needed a more experienced person in that position," said GM Dave Tallon. Savard — a Hall of Famer who played 13 of 18 seasons in Chi-town — was brought on as a development coach before ascending as an assistant behind the bench in 1997.
"It was a flat camp and we got out of the gate flat," lamented Tallon. So, begins the Joel Quenneville era. After stints heading the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche, Chicago hired Quenneville as a pro scout in the offseason. His promotion came quickly. Quenneville's past became a clearer advantage as the Hawks struggled in the Central Division. ''It's so tough in our own division,'' said Senior Adviser to Hockey Operations Scotty Bowman. ''You have (Mike) Babcock in Detroit, (Barry) Trotz in Nashville, (Ken) Hitchcock in Columbus, and Andy Murray in St. Louis. They all have upwards of 10 years (of experience).''
The Hawks won their second game under Quenneville's tutelage, defeating the underachieving Vancouver Canucks 4-2.
VANCOUVER
Which brings us to Roberto Luongo. Just before the year started, Vancouver Coach Alain Vigneault made Luongo the first goaltending captain of an NHL club since Montreal's Bill Durnan in 1947-48. He won't wear the C — per league policy — but neither will anyone else. Yet, that theoretical "C" must be adding weight to No. 1's jersey.
After three stellar post-lockout years where he won no less than 35 games, including a record matching 47-win campaign in 2006-2007 (tying Flyer-great Bernie Parent for second most wins ever in a season; that same year New Jersey's Martin Brodeur set the record with 48), Luongo's holes have been exposed early on. "The red lights behind the Canucks' goal have been giving off a despicable glare," says Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province. "On this [road] trip, it's been sapping the U.S. energy supply."
Vancouver is 3-3-0 and, at the moment, is losing 3-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets — good enough for fourth in the Northwest Division. Thus far, Luongo has allowed 16 goals on 140 shots, with a save percentage of .886, and a GAA of 3.40 (ranked 42nd in the NHL). Granted, the Canucks haven't played strongly in front of the cage, but Luongo has been the insurance against polluted play — a goaltender remunerated handsomely for his ability to defend the part of the rink his teammates fail to.
That's the reason Luongo is ranked third among goalies by Yahoo! Sports and resides on the "Can't Cut" list. But if he continues to play like Swiss cheese, Luongo could soon be watching Curtis Sanford occupy his crease. It could be a long winter in British Columbia.
LONG WAY TO GO...
But fret not, the season is only an eighth of the way gone; more than 70 games are on the way. The All-Star Break will be upon us in no time, and the standings and stat sheets could, and likely will, look very different. We'll check back in a few weeks once teams have settled and trends begin to signal more definitive directions for clubs destined to make the playoffs and those preparing to dust off the golf clubs.
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