Puck Daddy - NHL

Here are your Evening Puck Headlines and Previews: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Winter Classic souvenirs aren't limited to stolen Henrik Zetterberg sticks. NHL Auctions has a huge collection game-worn gear and game-used equipment up for bid. The first puck used in the game is up to $755. A game-worn Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane jersey is already at $3,000. Most of the auctions end on Jan. 22. If we could have anything from the Winter Classic, it'd be the 40 minutes of our lives back from that NBC pregame show. [First Cuts]

• Then again, who are we to criticize NBC or the NHL when it comes to doing the Classic right? "The Winter Classic drew the biggest American television audience for a regular-season NHL game in nearly 34 years. The Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day attracted an average of 4.4 million U.S. viewers on NBC, the network said Monday." [NHL]

• Meanwhile, the original Winter Classic rink from Buffalo has found a new home in East Aurora, 10 miles from Orchard Park. [WHEC]

Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars (7 p.m. EST; TV: Versus). It'll be Marty Turco against Chris Osgood between the pipes. Niklas Kronwall is out with in despite the flu. Only 23 points separate these two teams in the standings. 

• Bryan Murray won't say his job is safe. But he will say that he's not going to start trading the Ottawa Senators' first-round draft picks to save it. [CP]

• A brief history of the damages done to the minor league hockey arena in Sioux City during visits from the WWE. Including when one wrestler was given a "swirly" in the toilet. [Sioux City Journal, via PW Torch]

• Mirtle takes an interesting look at stoppages in play, which have been in steady decline since the lockout, and how many face-offs teams have per game. The Philadelphia Flyers have more stoppages than a DUI checkpoint on New Year's Eve, based on the numbers. [From the Rink]

• The charity 24-hour hockey game is over; if you had the Rangers teased up to plus-19 goals, congratulations. The Bruins didn't beat the spread. [CBC Sports]

• According to ESPN's Scott Burnside, the Phoenix Coyotes lost "25 percent of their revenue-sharing money last season" because the team "failed to hit revenue and attendance standards last season, they were penalized, according to sources." [ESPN]

• Meanwhile, kudos to our friend Stu Hackel at the Slap Shot blog for a very in-depth piece on how the Coyotes got into this mess, with a great roundup of current news and a stunning look back at other franchises that faced financial hardship in the past. The bottom line: "There are likely to be more messes as the economy staggers, wobbling like one of the punched-out boxers Brunt writes so eloquently about when he covers that sport.  But no one has been KO'd just yet. Not saying it won't happen, but as hockey's business gets set to change yet again, let's hold off on that dispersal draft. At least for a few more weeks." [NY Times]

Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. EST; TV: SUN, FSW). Piling on Steven Stamkos isn't just for Nikita Filatov anymore; Inside the Kings held a poll asking if readers would prefer Stamkos or Drew Doughty on the Kings. Five percent said Stamkos.

• You see, it's rather simple: If Vinny Lecavalier decides that, after committing to the Tampa Bay Lightning for 11 years, he really wants to be in Montreal, then he'll be there. [TSN]

• Dennis Kane refuses to speculate on the speculation that Vincent Lecavalier will become a member of the Montreal Canadiens. [Dennis Kane]

• Plus/minus is a garbage stat, but there's really no logical reason for Carolina Hurricanes center Rod Brind'Amour to be at minus-27, is there? [The Hockey News]

• Big ups to The Falconer, who joins SBN as the site's Atlanta Thrashers blogger. [Birdwatchers Anonymous]

• Finally, it's the Iowa Chops against the Rockford IceHogs. Oh yes, there will be pork:

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46 Comments

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  1. $ Petey $
    1. Posted by $ Petey $ Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:08 pm EDT

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    A senate seat
  2. MPL
    2. Posted by MPL Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:26 pm EDT

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    duh
  3. wtfk
    3. Posted by wtfk Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:08 pm EDT

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    Doughnuts rocks!
  4. carl_vs_mastershake
    4. Posted by carl_vs_mastershake Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    Stopages of play = revenue generating promotions from awful marketing people and Philly has no shortage of them.
    I refuse to comment on Lecav AKA the new Sundin story.
    Plus Minus is a great stat, yes a guy can make a quick line change, but that accounts for 1-3 maybe not 27. People that write a plus 7 as plus-7 should find another sport to cover. ROMIG
  5. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    5. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    Bryan Murray beth not be trading our thecond overall pick. For what reathon? To thave a theason after ith already over? Thame goes for Thpezza. Mike Fither, on the other hand...
  6. diehard_wings_fan134096
    6. Posted by diehard_wings_fan134096 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:43 pm EDT

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    @wysh
    did you even bother to check the link you posted?.....click on it and you'll see that it says kronwall is IN for tonight.....check out redwingscentral if you need a second opinion..
    (to quote bubbabanjo)
    "Wyshynski you stink!"
  7. Sobu
    7. Posted by Sobu Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:31 pm EDT

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    The Chops and the IceHogs! It's like the City and County police departments in an all out brawl. Whoever wins gets jurisdiction, and 1000 boxes of KrispeeKreme doughnuts.
  8. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    8. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    @ Master Shake
    I've long been promoting a SABResque stat that would replace +/-, but the pared down version is this:
    Why not assign every skater his own GAA, accounting for his TOI and ignoring the entire plus side of the equation? If you'd like to get into the meatier side of the formula, it would be similar to VORP and WPA, and account for who was on the ice for your Goals Against. This GAA+, for lack of a better term, is an idea not fully thought out yet, but once perfected, I'll be sure to publish the entire formula here, as a Puck Daddy Comments exclusive.
    Until then, measuring Sami Pahlsson's GAA against Teemu Selanne's would better serve to distinguish their relative defensive merits and liabilities than the overly-simplistic +/-, imo.
  9. Ed K
    9. Posted by Ed K Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:21 pm EDT

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    Chops and IceHogs. Friggin' awesome. It'd be even better if the first 5,000 fans got access to an all-you-can-eat rib fest.
    Personally, I wish Norfolk and Milwaukee would play each other every season. Since they're both called the Admirals, the winner should get a boat steering wheel.
  10. Brian
    10. Posted by Brian Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:13 pm EDT

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    I'd buy an RSS filter for Yahoo groups that filters this Greg W blogger dude out.
    Or maybe a Greg-bot that has two modes. 1. Makes excuses for Crosby and tries to convince the four remaining people in the world who might believe it that he's the best player in hockey and 2. bash the Flyers no matter what.
  11. Ed K
    11. Posted by Ed K Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:21 pm EDT

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    On NHL's home page plugging the Wings / Stars game: "Red Wings take six-game winning streak into Dalls." OOPS!
  12. Wyshynski
    12. Posted by Wyshynski Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:21 pm EDT

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    @ Brian --
    Just so I'm clear -- today I'm a Penguins fan, right?
    I get confused when I read the comments.
  13. The Great One
    13. Posted by The Great One Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    Wysh, you are no Penguins fan. You are a Devils fan who loves to rock the jox of all things Washington Capital.
  14. carl_vs_mastershake
    14. Posted by carl_vs_mastershake Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    @ The Great One +1,000,000
  15. dmcg84
    15. Posted by dmcg84 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:45 pm EDT

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    Duh thats nothing
  16. carl_vs_mastershake
    16. Posted by carl_vs_mastershake Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    @9 sounds intriguing. Take some time think it out and lay it on us
  17. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    17. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    @ Brian - Why buy such a filter when there already exists a free downloadable one.
    The way it works is every time you find your mouse dragging your clicking finger to one of Greg's articles, the shareware overrides your brain and DOESN'T click on it. You can get it at:
    http://flyersfans.neverstopwhining.com/tryusingyourhead/nexttime
  18. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    18. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    @ Carl
    Can't. Too busy reading the most prolific hockey blogger around.
  19. Sledge Longfellow
    19. Posted by Sledge Longfellow Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:30 pm EDT

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    Al "Winkle-breath" Strachan claims advertisers are NOT happy with the TV numbers of the Winter Classic and that the numbers are not good. [Al may have be full of horse-apples 1/2 the time but sure is fun to watch getting Mad Mike's cackles up on CBC Hot Stove.] He claimed this on The Score - Headline Sports, a Canajun ticker/highlights channel. I tried to find a link but couldn't; just Al flapping his leathery lips.
    He basically says this: National advertisers (who make the NHL world go around) discount the value of the "home" audience for such events ... in this case both Chicago and Detroit viewership numbers. If you remove these numbers, then viewership was down. The only real increase in numbers this year has to do with the fact that Det and Chic have a far greater market size than Pitt & Buff. There was no significant dent made in large markets like NY, LA, etc. So advertisers might not pony up the dough for another one of these expensive attractions. The corollary is that IF there is another WC it will be in NYC and will feature another large market American team. Forget a game in Minnesota, Denver, a farmer's field,or other hick places like Canada. Forget Fenway too, unless it is against Yankees ... er Rags.
  20. MONKEY MAN
    20. Posted by MONKEY MAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    the plus/minus does simplify things, granted, but i think it's a decent indication of whether someone is a two-way player or not. guys on the p.k. are always going to be more negative, although i still find it amazing brind amour's numbers are so horrible.
    i'd like to see your stats huets... , (as well as your ideas to reconfigure the nfl) particularly as related to how much ice time they get.
  21. Maraldo
    21. Posted by Maraldo Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:34 pm EDT

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    @monkey man
    "guys on the p.k. are always going to be more negative" - there is no +/- on powerplays.
  22. James
    22. Posted by James Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT

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    @21 - On the penalty kill you don't get a minus when a goal is scored just like you don't get a plus when you score on the power play.
    +/- is a basic way to see if someone back checks or just plays the "look out" defense (where you yell "look out!" at your goalie as you watch the 2 on 0 from center ice waiting for a break out pass).
  23. Sledge Longfellow
    23. Posted by Sledge Longfellow Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:30 pm EDT

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    @21,23,24 .... +/- does exist on powerplays/penalty kills, but only when shorthanded goals are scored
  24. MONKEY MAN
    24. Posted by MONKEY MAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    sorry, my bad.
    I guess I'm thinking the same sort of players (on the p.k.) are going to be playing the opponent's top line, therefore might not score much their own--the prototypical "shutdown line"
  25. steveys_myhero
    25. Posted by steveys_myhero Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:43 pm EDT

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    I agree--I never saw the +/- as a garbage stat.

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