Prime Time Sports Summary - April 25, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Neil Smith, former GM of the Islanders

Main NHL Story: Smith was subbing in for Eric Duhatschek. Smith and McCown started off reacquainted themselves with each other. First issue: Peter Forsberg - has he played his last NHL game? Morganti says that this is true and the problems he had with his ankle showed how much of a "diva" he was. He was such a distraction for both teams he played with this year and because he is injured there is no way anyone will pay the high price his agent commands. McCown took Morganti's point about the distraction to ask - would the Predators have gone further without Forsberg? Both Smith and Morganti agree that he didn't hurt the team, but he didn't really help the team either. Brunt and Smith then went on a tangent to talk about deadline deals made in the NHL. Smith said that the deals that work out are ones that don't affect the core of the team - and Forsberg's deal did impact the core. Brunt and Smith went on to talk about other deals that did and did not work out in the past and this season. McCown then moved on to a comment made by NY Rangers coach Tom Rennie, when he said that he didn't think Buffalo was the "cream of the crop." McCown asked Smith if this type of thing affects the series or the play of the game. Smith or Morganti said the comments made by Rennie usually have no impact on the game - especially given the underdog position of the NY Rangers. McCown's next discussion was on the bet placed by Buffalo's Mayor to New York's Mayor about the outcome of the series and the dismissal by Mayor Bloomberg of the bet. McCown said this was just a chance for Buffalo's mayor to get his name in the paper.
Round 2 Predictions:
Sabres vs. Rangers - Smith said the Rangers really have a chance against this Buffalo team, simply due to some of the acquisitions made at the trade deadline. Their play down the stretch and the return of Brendan Shanahan may give them a fight in the series, but overall the Sabres should easily win this series.
Devils vs. Senators - Morganti holds his faith in Brodeur and that he will be able to push his team through to the Eastern Finals. Neil Smith agrees that the Devils will move forward in this series based on the tender and the playoff experience.
Canucks vs. Ducks - Morganti says there really is no chance for the Canucks to beat this powerful Ducks team. Smith agrees, plus with the injuries and sicknesses the Canucks are facing is just too much for the Canucks to overcome.
Red Wings vs. Sharks - Smith calls the Red Wings on this one. Morganti also picked Detroit to win, based on their toughness. McCown feels the Sharks will win - based on his points system...

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 18, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet
NHL Phone In: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: Today was PTS' weekly NHL phone in by Mrogant and Duhatschek. The main topic was the firing of Don MacLean by the Columbus Blue Jackets. At the time of the conversation the firing had not yet officially occurred, but most of the Hockey Pucks points were quite relevant. The general consensus was that MacLean was fired because of the revenues the Columbus management was not seeing. Duhatschek brought up the point that over the 6 life of the team, the first year was their best. Even with the acquisitions of Rick Nash, Sergei Federov, etc, they were not able to get a better record than the inaugural team; which was full of NHL castaways and had Ron Tugnutt playing net. Management had felt they had given MacLean ample time to make this team decent and match the other expansion teams, who all are doing quite well. Morganti brought up the fact that he could see this coming as far back as the Hitchcock signing. When Morganti interviewed Hitchcock, post-hiring, it seemed to Morganti that Hitchcock was hired by the upper echelons of the Blue Jackets and MacLean had really no say. No matter what happened in Columbus, MacLean just signed a three-year contract last summer, so he will be taken care of in-between jobs.
McCown asked the Hockey Pucks who would be next in line for the GM position. Hat suggested Dave Taylor, Jimmy Nill, David McNabb and Steve Tambellini. Tambellini being his number one choice. Morganti suggested Neil Smith or Hitchcock himself could step into the role. However, Kelley responded that Hitchcock wants another Stanley Cup and wants to do it as a coach, not a GM. Further to that point, the Carolina Hurricanes made the right decision at the right time given that Columbus and possible other NHL teams will be looking for a new GM and Rutherford, for sure, would have been at the top of that list had he not re-signed.
Another topic discussed briefly was the attention Hockey Night In Canada is paying to the officiating in the NHL. Hat mentioned that this topic always comes up on the Satellite Hot Stove and you can't let it get to you, the officiating and calls will balance out over the year and by isolating specific incidents will only raise your blood pressure. Morganti said he needs to be talked about, especially in Canada, because the NHL is going around touting that this is the best NHL ever and there is nothing wrong with the league. And as long as Canadians are talking about the flaws, the NHL still has pressure to enhance the game.