Kovy Tells Avery to ‘Zip it’

Ilya Kovalchuk continues to make plenty of headlines before the regular season starts, and he was the biggest story coming out of Saturday’s pre-season loss to the New York Rangers. Sean Avery quickly got underneath Kovalchuk’s skin, and the two had a heated exchange on the bench.

There was initial concern that this was a throat-slash gesture (which is a suspendible offense), but Kovalchuk addressed that in his comments to the press after the game:

“I just told him to zip it,” Kovalchuk said after the Devils’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Rangers tonight. “I didn’t tell him I will kill him, so don’t suspend me.”

Rangers coach John Tortorella confirmed that Kovalchuk made a “zip your lip” motion and Avery himself said Kovalchuk should not be suspended for whatever gesture he made. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw the whole thing,” Tortorella said. “It was just shut your mouth. There was no slash.” {Puck Daddy}

So it wasn’t a throat slashing gesture, and it doesn’t seem like the NHL will use any disciplinary action over Kovy’s spat with Avery – but the league might be concerned about Avery’s accusation directed towards one of the on-ice officials, Paul Devorksi.

“But Avery said referee Paul Devorksi told him that he had gotten his 10-minute misconduct for going after a superstar. “He specifically told me I got it because [Kovalchuk] is a superstar, and I can’t go after a superstar,” Avery said of the dialog that took place in the box with 9:07 to go in the second. “I told him I make $4 million. I’m a superstar, too.” {NY Post}

I’d be interested to see the league investigate that comment – fans have long accused the NHL of giving star players preferential treatment, and if Devorski actually said something like this to Avery, the league would have to do a bit of backpedaling before it blows up into a bigger PR issue.

NHL Institutes New Head-Shot Rules

After the kinds of hits to the head we’ve seen over the last few seasons, fans, GM’s and players began clamoring for the league to address hits to the head. The NHL responded, setting some new guidelines in place for the 2010-2011 season.

{from Puck Daddy/NHL.com}

I think the NHL actually dealt with this whole mess correctly – they didn’t institute a dedicated ‘head-check’ penalty, but simply made any blindside or hit to the head (where the initial contact begins at the head) an automatic major penalty. Had the league created a new automatic minor penalty (like high-sticking), we’d see more annoyingly marginal penalties, primarily from height differential alone, but with this new setup, the NHL targeted the nasty hits, which was exactly what they needed to do.

If you watched that whole video, you saw replays of most of the hits that I complained about on this site last season. The hit on David Booth and the headshot from Cooke on Savard all found their way into this league-sanctioned video on these rule changes, and it’s encouraging to see that the NHL is actually addressing these hits before someone ends up paralyzed. Those kinds of hits were upsetting because they were, as the video says, checks that made their principle point of contact at the head.

I don’t often say this, but I think the NHL handled this perfectly. They dealt with the problem at hand without sacrificing the physicality and intensity our game is known for.

NHL to Quebec – ‘You’re on Your Own’

Ever since Quebec City lost their beloved Nordiques to relocation, the public outcry to bring them back has grown louder and louder – and the local political climate seems receptive to a tax-funded stadium for a new franchise. The NHL won’t be playing that game, however, and while the comish is open to another team in Quebec, the politics will have to break the ground for an arena all on their own.

“The NHL would be happy to return to Quebec City if a new arena can be built, but it won’t enter the political arena to help make it happen, commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday.
“I’ve followed very closely the articles, I’ve seen the cartoons and, as we’ve said, if the right circumstances presented themselves, we would like to find a way to go back to Quebec City,” Bettman told a news conference in Ottawa, where he announced that the Senators will host the 2012 all-star weekend.

“The issue obviously is the need for a new arena, because in the absence of a new arena it is not possible for us to go back,” Bettman continued. “How a new arena gets built, who pays for it, is not something we’re getting involved in.”

A hot topic on Parliament Hill has been Quebec City’s quest for a new rink that could pave the way for the NHL’s return. The Nordiques left for Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995.”

{THN}

The league shouldn’t be expected to directly jump into the political and economic issues that surround the process of building a new arena for a city. Quebec City’s economy is experiencing a huge boom, and would be a solid and viable market for the NHL to venture into again, but the costs to start breaking ground are massive. The idea that’s being circulated now is making the new Quebec arena a jointly financed project between local taxpayers and federal funding:

“At a projected cost of about $400 million, the idea of Ottawa pitching in with $180 million in federal funding has led cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to weigh in on the matter in recent days, arguing for and against the use of taxpayers’ money for professional sports.

On Wednesday, Bettman was asked what his message to Harper would be, and the commissioner had none.

“Well, first of all, if I had a message to the prime minister, then I would give it to him directly, I won’t use this forum or any public forum to do it,” Bettman replied. “But, more importantly, as I said before, how buildings get financed, who is going to be responsible, how is it going to be paid for, that is a decision that we will not be presumptuous and weigh in on.

“Various constituents, both private and public, are going to have to decide what they think does or does not make sense in a particular case.”

Bettman did say, however, that he’s been in regular telephone contact with Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume and considers the relationship between the mayor and the PM “very cordial, very open.”

{THN}

As stand-off-ish as Bettman seems here, they’re playing this whole situation cautiously. They’ve got a great hockey culture in Quebec City, and Bettman has been quite clear on his preference to return to former markets before expanding to new ones. At the same time, the Canadian government isn’t going to throw hundreds of millions into a stadium for an AHL team. The message is quite clear here – if they build it, the NHL will come back. The hurdles now are purely political at this point, and if the financing comes through, we could see the Nordiques hit the ice again in the not-to-distant future.

Ottawa To Host 2012 All-Star Game

The NHL announced that the Ottawa Senators will be hosting the 2012 All-Star Game, as Scotiabank Place will become the third Canadian venue to host the festivities in the last decade.

“The 2012 all-star weekend will run Jan. 26-29. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement.

Word first broke last week and, after holding the 2005 and 2008 entry drafts and an attendance record-breaking 2009 world junior championship, Ottawa was believed to be next in line for the festivities.

The completion of the Ottawa Convention Centre next year was believed to be one of the final requirements needed in order to land the event for the first time. It will be part of the NHL team’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

“We’ve proven over and over again that we can put on a world-class event,” Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, whose Ontario Hockey League team, the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, will host this season’s Memorial Cup.

“If you speak to the people at Hockey Canada, the people that saw what we did to the world juniors, they will tell you that, by far, it was the most successful world juniors ever put on or staged anywhere in the world at any time in history,” Melnyk said. “So we’re going to try and raise the bar for everybody else.” {The Hockey News}

Ottawa’s 20th anniversary of re-joining the NHL will coincide with the 2012 All-Star Game. No word on wether or not Alexander Daigle and Alexi Yashin will make any guest appearances at Scotiabank on the big day.

NHL Slams Devils with Fine for Kovalchuk Contract

The NHL has dropped the hammer on the New Jersey Devils, fining the organization $3 million dollars, while forcing the Devils to forfeit two future draft picks.

“Arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled the $102-million, 17-year deal was an attempt to get around the salary cap. The contract was to last until Kovalchuk’s 44th birthday and featured a number of years at a reduced salary towards the end.

As a result, the Devils will pay a hefty fine and forfeit their third-round draft pick in 2011 and a first-round selection in one of the next four drafts. New Jersey has the option to choose which draft.

The team has maintained it never intentionally tried to get around the salary cap and reiterated that stance in the wake of Monday’s announcement. The Devils have the right to appeal the punishment to the NHL’s board of governors—who meet Tuesday in New York—but it wasn’t immediately clear if they intended to do so.

“We were today advised of the ruling by the commissioner with respect to the Kovalchuk matter,” Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement. “We disagree with the decision. We acted in good faith and did nothing wrong. We will have no further comment.”
In issuing its ruling, the NHL said it considers the matter closed.

The Devils and Kovalchuk ultimately had a revamped $100-million, 15-year contract approved earlier this month. That came after the NHL and NHL Players’ Association agreed to amend the collective bargaining agreement with changes governing future long-term deals.

The Russian winger is one of the league’s premier scorers, but he’s come at a massive price for the Devils. In addition to handing him a big contract and enduring the NHL’s heavy punishment, New Jersey still needs to make some personnel decisions to get under the $59.4-million cap—likely having to unload a player or two before the season begins next month.
The Devils also gave up a big package to acquire Kovalchuk from Atlanta in February. They sent a 2010 first-round pick, forward Niclas Bergfors, defenceman Johnny Oduya and prospect Patrice Cormier to the Thrashers for Kovalchuk and defenceman Anssi Salmela.

It leaves the 27-year-old with a lot to prove.

The punishment handed down on Monday is the stiffest the league has dished out since the salary cap was instituted coming out of the 2004-05 lockout.” {THN}

Let’s get down to the question that’s going to be debated for the rest of the offseason – was this punishment fair? This is the biggest front-office fine handed down from the NHL for years, and the contract, while massive and clearly meant to circumvent the salary cap, only ventured out a little further than the deals inked (and approved by the league itself) by the likes of Zetterberg, Pronger and Marian Hossa.

The $3 million is really not that much of an issue, but the draft picks (third round pick in 2011 and first round TBA) are what really hurt the team the most. Suppose that first round pick turns into a MVP in five years – would the NHL look back on this punishment as a bit of an overreaction?

Lamoriello might have been in the wrong for trying to push this contract through when he knew the league would reject it, but like a lazy cop picking out the last speeding car in the pack, the NHL funneled all of the punishment onto the Devils when multiple franchises deserved just as much heat for doing the exact same thing.

Sabres to Unveil New Jerseys

The Buffalo Sabres will be getting rid of their current jersey set, finally ditching the ‘buffa-slug’ for some more classically retro uniforms. We managed to get a sneak peek at these jerseys last season, but some images of the newest Sabres uniforms leaked.

This is supposed to be the new third jersey for Buffalo, and it looks pretty solid. I’m not usually a fan of the lace-up neck on the RBK edge uniforms, but in this case, I think it works very well. If I’ve got one issue with this alternate, it’s that I think the buffalo logo is a bit too small, but overall, this is a great direction for the third. Here’s another leaked shot of the away jersey the Sabres will be wearing next year:

{Images from Puck Daddy/HFboards}

I dig the differing mixtures of grey and silver on the sleeves, and while I think it probably could have used a touch of blue in the stripes, I love the huge logo in the middle of the sweater. I can only assume the home jersey will have to change as well – and would probably be very similar to this road jersey we’re showing here, but there’s nothing official on that front just yet. In either case, it’s a hell of a lot better than the Slug-logo, and Buffalo should keep these unis around for a while.

Crosby Goes Yard

Sidney Crosby stepped into batting practice with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and literally sent a homer out of PNC Park. Check it out.

{Video from Puck Daddy}

370-ish feet is not bad at all for a guy who hasn’t “picked up a bat since 13″. You’re welcome to insert your own crack at the Pirates, as they’ve been fairly awful for the last few decades. We’re seeing more and more of these sports PR crossovers – the Hawks took the Cup to both Wrigley Field and Comerica (Toews and Kane also took BP on their stops too), and even Tomas Fleischman did the ceremonial kick-off for a DC United game earlier this week.

Halak Says Goodbye to Montreal

Canadiens fans everywhere were near-universally dismayed when Montreal traded away Jaroslav Halak, the promising young goaltender who led the Habs to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1993. Halak was a huge fan favorite in Montreal, and before heading to St.Louis for his first training camp with the Blues, Jaro made a final stop in Montreal to sign autographs, raise money for charity, and say a last goodbye to the fans that supported him.

{H/T to drfrankentweed from SLGT}

“Jaroslav Halak knew he had fans in Montreal, but even the former Canadiens goaltender was stunned at how many turned out for his farewell autograph session on Saturday.

It was estimated when the session opened that there were 5,000 lined up at the La Capsule Sportive store, a horde that stretched the length of the sprawling Fairview mall in suburban Pointe-Claire, Que., and continued a long way outside the building.

At least that many more turned up later—prompting the scheduled two-hour session to be extended by an 90 minutes.

”It’s really surprising, but it’s nice that many people showed up,” the 25-year-old hero of the Canadiens playoff run last season said before sitting down to sign a seemingly endless stream of pictures, his No. 41 Canadiens shirts, sticks, newspaper clippings and other items. ”It feels weird, but I have great memories here and that’s why I wanted to say thank you to the fans.”

Store officials said fans began to line up at 8:30 a.m. for an event that started at 2 p.m. ET.

Canadiens fans got behind the Slovakian goaltender last spring as he won the starting job from Carey Price and led the team to the NHL playoffs. They fell in love as he led the team to upset victories over top-ranked Washington and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in the NHL playoffs before falling to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference final.
He won the Molson Cup as the Canadiens player of the year for 2009-10, posting a 26-13-5 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and a solid .924 save percentage, compared to a 13-20-5 record with a 2.77 average and .914 save percentage for Price.

That’s why many were shocked when the Canadiens, unable to keep both young goaltenders, opted to stick with the younger, bigger Price, who they selected with the fifth overall draft pick in 2005. For all Price’s evident talent, it was Halak who produced victories.

Halak, the 271st pick of 2003, was traded to the St. Louis Blue on June 17 for young forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

”I’m sad I was traded, but I’m happy I will get a chance to play and be a No. 1 goalie,” he said. ”I was surprised, but I’m happy they got me.”

”They showed me respect. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a new challenge, new team, new friends.”

The Blues signed Halak to a $15 million four-year contract on July 6. Negotiations with Price dragged on until this week when he signed a $5.5 million two-year deal.

That Halak trade will be debated all season, as the turnout to the mall showed which of them would win a popularity contest.

Halak’s representatives, David Walsh and David Schatia, were contacted by the Montreal firm Centre68 to stop by on his way to St. Louis to sign autographs for charity and, of course, promote the chain of sporting goods stores.

Fans paid $20 per autograph, with all the money going to the Ste Justine children’s hospital.

”Our expectations were that we’d have about 500 people,” said one of the organizers, Steve Stein, who ran former Habs captain Saku Koivu’s charitable foundation. ”It’s a great success, and the hospital benefits.”
Halak looked a little shocked himself, but he smiled and kept signing as cameras clicked and fans wished him well. The orderly crowd was mostly parents with children, or groups of teenagers and other young fans. A few told him the Canadiens kept the wrong goalie, to which he replied ”Thanks, but that’s the hockey business.”

The only request he turned down was from some young women who wanted a hug. Instead he offered a handshake. Behind him were racks of Halak shirts and jerseys from both the Canadiens and the Blues, as well as the item that sold like hotcakes during the playoffs—red stop signs with Halak written on them.

Halak has a date circled on his calendar—March 10. That’s when the Canadiens face the Blues in St. Louis this season, although it’s not quite the rush that playing them in Montreal would be.

”We play against them in March, and we’ll see if I play that game and how I feel about it,” said Halak, who expects to arrive in St. Louis on Wednesday. ”It’s strange, but I’m looking forward to the day I play for (the Blues) in Montreal.” {THN.com}

It’s really an overwhelming response from the fanbase in Montreal, and that’s really a reflection of the bi-polar nature of the hockey culture that surrounds the Habs. Halak was an integral part of the Canadiens team that tore through the Eastern Conference, and the Habs community gave their beloved goaltender a proper send off.

Savard’s Agent Slams Bettman

After the NHL spiked Ilya Kovalchuk’s massive 17 year, $101 million dollar contract, the league began looking into similar deals inked by other big-name players. Marc Savard’s contract was among the handful being re-evaluated by the league, and the NHL is even considering voiding the contract entirely. This news did not sit well with Savard’s agent, Larry Kelly, who dropped the hammer on Gary Bettman:

“I’d really like to see a true-commissioner -style , someone who has the best interest of the game in mind rather than the situation they have now… Bettman is (more like) the president of the league and he clearly is on the owners side on every issue. I really think it should be a commissioner. With a commissioner you have somebody who is totally independent and I think it would be a much less acrimonious situation.”

{Puck Daddy}

Does Kelly have a point here? Is the NHL over-stepping its bounds by threatening to void signed contracts? From a legal standpoint, the members of the NHLPA are employed by the league, and the NHL is well within their rights to terminate or revoke contracts as it sees fit. This situation really begs the question – where was Bettman when these deals were signed off on by the league? Why choose to re-evaluate these contracts right before the NHL starts working on a new collective bargaining agreement? Kovalchuk’s contract clearly struck a nerve within the NHL administration, and they had to draw the line with these ‘front-loaded’ deals at some point, but it seems a bit crass to threaten players like Savard and Hossa with the possibility of revoked contracts.

Yeah, the NHL has the right to do what they want with the contracts they issue, but the timing couldn’t be worse – if the league decides to start spiking more deals, they’ll agitate an already grumpy NHLPA, and further complicate the delicate process of establishing a new CBA.

Niemi Close to Signing in San Jose

The Sharks are close to landing former Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi, as reports are surfacing that the Finnish keeper has already signed a one year deal somewhere in the $2 million range.

“Stanley Cup-winning goalie Antti Niemi is reportedly set to sign a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks as early as Thursday according to ESPN Chicago and multiple other internet reports. The contract will pay Niemi $2 million for the 2010-11 season.

Niemi was awarded a one-year contract worth $2.75 million through arbitration last month, but the Chicago Blackhawks chose to walk away and let him become an unrestricted free agent. San Jose has been rumored as a likely destination for Niemi ever since the Hawks chose not to accept the arbitrator’s contract award on Aug. 2.

The Sharks were planning to enter the season with Antero Niittymaki and Thomas Greiss as their goalie tandem, but Niemi’s presence will push Greiss to third on the depth chart and create competition with Niittymaki for the No. 1 job.

Niemi went 26-7-4 in the regular season and posted 16 wins, including two shutouts, plus a 2.63 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in the playoffs.” {NHL.com}

It’s something of a confusing move by Doug Wilson, as he’s just signed Antero Niittymaki, and essentially declared the starting job open to either Niittymaki and youngster Tomas Greiss. Some Sharks fans are a bit irked by this potential deal, as most feel like the team really needed a solid defenseman rather than another goaltender, but Wilson could have a trade on the way involving Greiss. We’ll likely know more tomorrow, as Nick Kypreos from Sportsnet claimed that Niemi would sign ‘as early as tomorrow’. More details as they emerge.

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