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.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 17, 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: John Muckler, GM of the Ottawa Senators

Main NHL Story: John Muckler called into the show and both McCown and Kelley talked to him about some of the issues surrounding the Senators. McCown first brought up the state of the series with the Penguins. Muckler commented that it is a very tough series and will continue to be one. The Penguins team is young and fast and Ottawa must match that with skill. McCown continued, mentioning how this series will be seen as a "hurdle" for the Senators to get over, given their past playoff performances. Muckler responded that he knows his team must win in the playoffs, regardless of their regular season performances. Muckler feels that this 2007 team is built differently than previous years and has all the make-up of a playoff winning team. Kelley asked Muckler about the state of his team and why they should be considered a playoff team. Muckler responded with the example of the adversity the team faced when they were plagued with injuries. Those injuries allowed some of their 4th liners and AHL players to prove themselves, which in turn has made the Senators a very deep team in terms of NHL playing time and experience. Muckler really thinks the maturity of Ray Emery will also help them to succeed. Kelley and Muckler talked about the physical side of the series and the playoff on whole and so far Ottawa is winning the physicality battle in the first round. McCown brought up the issue of the Gary Roberts trade and some of the rumours going around the trade. Muckler responded simply with no comment. As was mentioned on AM640's Leafs Lunch yesterday, by Bruce Garroich of the Ottawa Sun, Roberts didn't go to Ottawa because Muckler would not give Florida their first round pick, but I digress. Kelley asked Muckler about his feelings on the officiating so far in the playoffs. Muckler seemed quite happy with the Officials and feels he has a great pair of Refs for the Pens and Sens round. This brought on a discussion about the style of play in the post-lockout era and the officials. Kelley asked Muckler about the play of Daniel Alfredsson, who seems to be playing for vengeance this series, because of the weak defensive move he made on Buffalo's Jason Pominville in last years playoffs, which ended the Senators hopes at the 2006 Stanley Cup. Muckler just said that Alfredsson is playing like a leader, like the captain of the team or, in other words, like he should be. Finally, McCown asked Muckler if he had any feelings about the CBC snub by the NHL on the Saturday night game last week. Muckler said what is best for the NHL will be decided by the NHL.

Bullets:
Jim Kelley and Bob McCown sent their condolences to the family of Gaetan Duchesne, who died of a heart attack at the young age of 44.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 5, 2007

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

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet, James Deacon from the FAN590 and Adam Proteau from the Hockey News

NHL Discussion:
The point system and it deception. McCown believes the NHL points system is flawed. He thinks a 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 system for would work for points. This system places emphasis on winning in regulation time (4 points) and puts less emphasis on a shoutout win (2 points). McCown did this analysis on the 2006 - 2007 season and found some surprising results. The best team in the NHL would be the San Jose Sharks and not the Red Wings - they would fall to #2. The most interesting parts come near the bottom, where the Hurricanes would be 15th overall and would be winning their division. This system really shows the strength of the Western conference. Proteau really thinks this system has a legs, and feels it is just too difficult for teams that fall behind early to catch up to those that started the season well. For example, numerous teams, the Leafs included, have gone on some serious win streaks, yet maybe move 1 position up. Kelley and Deacon really loves this system as it forces teams to win a game within 60 minutes. Deacon brings up the point of conflict between the NHL's MO of making hockey more interesting to the casual fan and putting less emphasis on the shootout with this point system. Gary Bettman has been quoted many times as saying that the shootout makes the game more exciting to those casual fans - putting less emphasis on it, may make the NHL look unstable in its decision making. McCown rebuts this by saying the shootout is simply not part of hockey - if it was, why are teams dressing a guy who is a shootout "expert" yet is unable to anything else? Kelley raises the point that some powerhouse teams may runaway from the pack quicker and therefore become "unreachable" and the league's parity would be lost. I think it's a nice idea and may work, but as these guys discussed it would change how GM's would pick their teams and the decisions coaches would make during game - as they want to get the win in regulation.

In addition, and while Bob was on roll, he suggestion to fix the All-Star game: fill the penalty box with cash and who ever wins, gets the cash.

Bullets:
The Pavel Datsyuk contract - too long and will take money away from a good goaltender when Hasek leaves. This move (7 year contract) is very unlike the Red Wings. Overall, the panel agreed this was not a good move, especially given Datsyuk's past playoff history - they should have waited.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 5, 2007

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

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet, Paul Coffey former NHL player

Main NHL Story: Limited hockey discussion on Thursday night. For the first 20 minutes or so, Paul Coffey was live in studio and the panel discussed some of the hot topics around the NHL. Paul mainly talked about the NHLPA issue and his involvement (which was limited), however from his view he was very thankful for what the PA did for him and his career. Kelley talked about the situation in Edmonton and how the city is so focussed on hockey that it becomes difficult for the star players (Pronger, Smyth, etc.) to keep the town happy. Coffey was very impressed with the work Oiler's GM Kevin Lowe has been doing since his was given the job. McCown brought up the fact that the Edmonton of the 80's and 90's is a totally different from the Edmonton of today - simply put, if your winning, it's a place you want to be, if the team is not winning, then the city seems to take a dip. Going along with that difference, is the difference between the game today and the game back when Coffey played. Coffey agrees with a majority of the rule changes, however he feels more power should be given to the defencemen. Coffey says that today's defencemen have trouble expanding their game. He feels that a more "robotic" motion is in place - when in the defensive zone, the defencemen can't lay a hand on any attacks and when they flip to offense, they simply fire the puck up to the forwards. The days of the rushing defenceman is slowly slipping away.

Finally, Coffey talked about his Baycrest Hockey Tournament for Alzheimer's. The tournament runs from April 26 to 28, 2007. Click the link for more info.