Bleacher Report - Articles by Bradley Karp

Let Bob Gainey Do His Job, Montreal

Bradley Karp — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:54:19 -0500

If you live in Montreal you know what I am talking about when I say that anyone can do better than Bob Gainey. Whoever you talk to would do this or that, trade this player for that, and hire this coach and fire that one. In one of Canada's largest cities, that's a lot of people better than Gainey.

I have lived in Montreal for 18 years and I have always said that teams need time to perform. However, most Canadiens fans seem to forget that there are 82 games in a season, and that losing four games in a row before Christmas will not make or break a cup run.

Since I am now the sports editor for my college paper, it seems that every idiot armchair GM has to tell me how great their plan is.

I have laughed at some suggestions and given others serious thought, all the while saying that this team needs time. It seems I was right, Kovy has found his touch and Price is coming back. The team is in the same position as last year, while being better suited for the playoffs.

Seeing how the Habs seem to have found their groove, I'm going to give you my ultimate list of what I have heard, all from amateur Montreal fans, who have no idea what they are talking about. Some is real, some is fiction, all of it is stupid.

No. 1—The first move I would make as the GM of the Montreal Canadiens would be to fire Guy Carbonneau and hire Mr. T. Imagine pre-game locker speeches riddled with "I pity the fool" (because we all know Carbonneau is an incompetent and unproven coach).

No.2—I would lower the price of all tickets by 30 percent, thus giving more fans the opportunity to watch the game. (At the same time I will lower profit margins during an economic decline and not have enough money to pay salaries up to the cap, lowering the standard of play on the team.)

No. 3—Trade away all European players, especially Koivu and Kovalev, for North American fourth line players (because we all know that Euro players have no heart, especially when they come back from cancer).

No. 4—Make all fourth line players our first liners so that teams will be intimidated to play us, and pay them the most because they have the hardest job. (Because The Hockey News said that Steve Begin is going to break out and have a 30 goal campaign)

No. 5—Make a special day each month where one lucky fan gets to run the team (because fans are always right).

No. 6—Move the Canadiens back to the Forum, because we haven't won a Stanley Cup since. (Obviously it's to our advantage to lose almost 5000 fans per-game, especially in the playoffs when atmosphere is everythingcan. Not to mention that the training facilities at the forum are way more high tech, they just installed their first LED light!)

No. 7—Get George Gillett to sell the team, he is not involved enough with the team, he does not make any decisions. (Well he's obviously not the GM! Look at Oakland and Al Davis, and the Cowboys and Jerry Jones. Along with the fact that he cares about the Canadiens and it is not just a "business".)

No. 8—Have a 2:1 French to English player ratio; the team is in Quebec we should have Quebecois players. (Because it is pretty obvious that all the best players in the world are from Quebec. Ovechkin,Malkin,Crosby,Thornton and Iginla all sound so Quebecois to me!)

No. 9—Trade Carey Price. Imagine his market value! We could get a solid player and a draft pick, then use that pick to draft another great young goalie of his caliber to replace him. (Obviously this makes sense, trade the greatest goaltending prospect in over a decade. Because players like Price obviously come around all the time.)

No. 10—Move the team to Saudi Arabia. The team would not have to pay 78 percent property taxes, allowing them to lower the ticket price by 30 percent. We would be able to build our own hockey market there and have first dibs on the untapped Saudi hockey talents.

The move would remove the team's pressure to win, which sometimes impedes their progress, and players would most likely be more interested to play in a less frenzied environment. Also, if they build the arena on an oil field, they could own a petrol processing plant, bringing in extra revenue!

The King Is Home

Bradley Karp — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:38:32 -0500

Not too long ago the greatest North American goalie to ever play the game finally closed the book on his career. It remains a dark day in many Canadiens fans memory, December, 2, 1995 the day the greatest goaltender in NHL history left the Canadiens for Colorado after a 12-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

A scene that replays in my mind over and over again, and as it does with many others, Roy walked past Canadiens coach Mario Tremblay to team president Ronald Corey and told him he had played his last game with the Canadiens.

The next day Roy and team mate Mike Keane were members of the Colorado Avalanche, traded for Jocelyn Thibault, Andrei Kovalenko, and Martin Rucinsky, three players who never did anything special for the Canadiens. The very next year the Avalanche won a Stanley Cup with Roy.

The Avs won once again in 2001 and Roy won the Conn Smythe as the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs for a record third time in his career, due to his great play against Martin Brodeur. Known as "The Trade” the Canadiens gave up the player who almost single handedly won them the cup in 1986 and 1993.

With Roy in nets the Canadiens surprised the league in ’86 and then again in ’93 where the Habs won a record 10 overtime playoff games, Roy won the Conn Smythe trophy both times. After the trade many Canadiens fans had rejected Roy saying that he had “betrayed” or “quit” on the team.

One thing that most people do not understand about professional sports is that for the athletes it is a job. If you do not enjoy your job and you have 29 other “companies” willing to pay you to go and work for them wouldn’t you leave as well? With his Canadiens loyalty in question, the Habs never the less decided to have Roy’s No. 33 retired this season leading up to their centennial.

With the darkest day in Canadiens history 13 years in the past, Roy, the media, the Canadiens staff and the fans themselves wondered how the “King” would be treated on November 22. Sitting in my seat just above the Desjardins boxes, right behind the Boston net, I awaited the ceremony giddy like a three year old on the first Christmas morning where he actually understood what was about to receive.

I was there to see the greatest goalie to grace the ice, the hero of millions, my hero and the reason I love hockey. The atmosphere was intense and full of nerves, with grey cup village down the street the Bell Centre was buzzing.

On the jumbotron was game five of the Stanley Cup finals in 1993, the last time the habs won the cup. When the clock hit zero, the building erupted as if we had actually won something. Unfortunately we were living in the past, wishing it was now. The video brought back memories long forgotten, of a local hero, a man who commanded a nation with his glove and drive for success, the man who brought a city and people to tears, a man who was finally going to come home.

As soon as the video finished with a team picture, and the cup in Roy’s lap, Dick Irvin’s voice came over the loud speaker and introduced to the Canadiens fans for the first time since his last game in 1995, Patrick Roy. Heads turned in every direction, mostly to the Canadiens entrance to the ice, but it was on the jumbotron once again where our attention was directed.

The de la gauchetiere entrance was on the screen, all of us in the building were still waiting for his entrance. Then the legend himself walked through the front doors for the first time in 13 years, as if nothing had happened, wearing his No. 33 Canadiens jersey looking ready to hit the ice.

Roy walked through the concourse, through the crowd and behind the bench, in the reverse order as he had done on December 2. After shaking hands with Jean Beliveau, he walked back on to Canadiens ice for the first time in over a decade, and back into the heart of millions of fans, even though he had never really left.

From the moment his face flashed on to the screen the building erupted for a six minute standing ovation, he walked onto the carpet and once again commanded all attention, as he had done during his 11 years with the Canadiens organisation.

His speech was like any other time he spoke to the media, brief but with plenty of fire and heart. He spoke about how he still hears the “foule du Canadiens” screaming after winning the cup in ’86 and ‘93. Roy thanked us, the fans for welcoming him into our hearts, as a 20-year old rookie with hopes of a Stanley Cup, which later that year he would deliver.

The most important thing he did that night was apologize in the best way that he could, for leaving on “such short notice” as he put it. He told us that he would have loved to finish his career in Montreal, and who wouldn’t believe him.

Quebec is where he was born, where he fell in love with the game, where he played, where he was drafted, where he got married, where his kids were born and where he played for as he put it “the greatest hockey team in the world le bleu-blanc et rouge.”

He spoke seemingly to every Canadiens in the world fan that he left too early explaining how the next day he was ready to put the incident behind him and return to the Montreal crease.

At the end of his speech he reminisced about “the nights we made the forum tremble and Montreal shake.” With a tear in everybody’s eye, including a full out sobbing on my part.

He finished off his speech, in a way that put closure in not only my heart, but the heart of all hockey fans, “finally tonight you welcome me back into your building and hearts, like you did when I was just 20, and yearning for success. Tonight you will allow me to have my jersey retired, and I am glad to say, that after 13 years on the road, tonight I am coming home.”

It was the perfect ending, to the perfect speech, from the man who made a career of goaltending perfection. His No. 33 was raised to the rafters next to Lafleur, Dryden, Plante, and the Richards among others, cementing his place as one of the Canadiens greats.

Walking in the tunnel towards the Canadiens dressing room, to the roar of the crowd, Roy made his last appearance in a Canadiens uniform, leaving the way he should have all those long, dark and cold December nights ago, finally the “Roi” is home.

Sean Avery: The NHL's Most Idiotic Player

Bradley Karp — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:19:32 -0500

Once again the NHL’s big mouth heavyweight decided to say something stupid… as usual.

Ever since his first days as a rookie with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 Sean Avery has been known as an agitator and the proprietor of a rather large and obnoxious mouth.

In his first 75 NHL games Avery spent 188 minutes in the penalty box. Tuesday Avery decided to talk to the Calgary media, the topic was not hockey, not the game that him and his Dallas Stars team mates would be playing against the Calgary Flames, but how “it has become a common thing for guys in the league to fall in love with my sloppy seconds.”

Those “sloppy seconds” that Avery was referring to is Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert, his ex-girlfriend and the current girlfriend of Calgary Flames defense-man, Dion Phaneuf. The NHL suspended Avery indefinitely and scheduled a hearing with league commissioner Gary Bettman for Thursday at noon ET.

The suspension comes as no surprise since Avery has eluded NHL suspension multiple times before. In 2005 he made comments about French Canadian players who wear visors after being hit by Denis Gauthier. "I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up," Avery received no punishment for this comment. During the warm up in a 2007 game against the Leafs Avery got into an altercation with Darcy Tucker and was fined 2,500$.

In 2008 Avery waves his hand in front of New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur to cause a distraction during a Rangers vs Devils playoff series, forcing the NHL to invoke a new rule making Avery's tactic illegal. That was the shortened list, every time he has gotten off lightly, now it seems that the NHL has had enough, after Avery called out Bettman and his NHL hierarchy, personally calling the league “a joke,” just a few months ago and now the “sloppy seconds” incident.

Finally the “its just Sean,” excuse has been overused and the NHL are not the only ones who think so. “Sean crossed the line,” Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett said. “We’ve always professed that there is nobody bigger than this team. My job is to build a team; I do not think I can build a team if Sean came back into that dressing room.”

The rumour floating around the media and the NHL is that the Stars will try to trade Avery, the rumour is all that more believable with Tippett’s comment in hand. No matter how much they try, it will be difficult for the Stars to trade the NHL’s biggest stain. Avery signed with Dallas to the tune of a four-year 16 million dollar deal.

Yes the Stars are paying four million dollars per year, for 33 points and 154 penalty minutes. Isn’t that a great lesson to the hockey youth? As Don Cherry would say “Now look here kids, if you can tie your own skates, be a loud mouthed obnoxious jerk to other players, disrespect the game of hockey, continuously get into confrontations with the media and most importantly of all, consistently put your team on the penalty kill.

You too can earn four million dollars per year in the NHL.” At this point in his career who will want that kind of baggage, not to mention that out of the ten years Avery has spent in the league, his team has only made it to the playoffs twice, and they never got past the first round.

The sexual image that comes to mind, with the words “sloppy seconds” should be enough to scare the other 29 teams in the NHL away from Avery, just like the kid with “coodies” in elementary school. Hopefully the NHL will suspend Avery forever, even though it is highly unlikely.

It does seem however that all of Avery’s past has caught up with him, and maybe Gary Bettman will introduce Avery to his new enemy, not Martin Brodeur, or even Dion Phaneuf, but karma, who after a long absence in his life will finally come full circle and slap Avery in the behind.

The Dallas Stars are last in the Western Conference, and cannot possibly go any lower from there, Avery will certainly either be traded or have his contract bought out. Maybe he will go and join fellow diva Ray Emery in the Kontinental Hockey League, where Emery is earning two million dollars per year tax free with Atlant Mytishchi.

Players of Avery’s type and attitude have no place in hockey. Avery tried Broadway with the New York Rangers but oddly enough the only stage he was allowed to play on was the Madison Square Garden ice.

At the end of his contract the Ranger’s could not throw him out the backstage door fast enough. Finally the NHL has realized that Sean Avery is more interested in being in front of the camera like his ex’s in Elisha Cuthbert and Rachel Hunter than playing hockey.

Montreal Canadiens Off-Season Update

Bradley Karp — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:28:39 -0400

The NHL 2008-2009 regular season is slowly creeping up on the 30 GM's around the league. So I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the moves that Montreal Canadiens GM has made up to this point.

In: LW Alex Tanguay. Acquired from the Calgary Flames for the Canadiens first round pick (25th overall).

Tanguay is a solid playmaker with great speed. He will be used most likely along Christopher Higgins and Saku Koivu. He gives the Canadiens another quick player with decent size and puckhandling skills. He will most likely post 50 points.

In: RW Georges Laraque. Acquired via Free Agency (Class III). Signed a three-year contract.

Laraque will bring the Canadiens that grit they missed in the post-season. Because of him, Komisarek will no longer have to fight as much, and neither will Kovalev. He is also one of the most respected and community involved athletes in the NHL. This move was made in hope of giving our skilled players more room on the ice. He will most likely post 15 points and 150 penalty minutes.

In: G Marc Denis. Acquired via Free Agency (Class III). Signed a one-year, two-way contract.

Denis is at the end of his career. He was brought in to play with the Bulldogs and back up Halak if Price goes down with an injury. Not a huge signing by any means, but certainly adds depth and experience at a young goaltender position.

In: D, Shawn Belle. Acquired from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for C Corey Locked.

Belle has a bright future in the NHL, a large mobile defensive defenseman who is not afraid of dishing out a big hit. He was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He earned a gold with Carey Price in the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championships. He will be the Canadiens spare or 6th d-man this season. He will post three goals, 16 assists and 50 penalty minutes.

In: D, Greg Pateryn. Acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for C Mikhail Grabovski.

Pateryn is a highly regarded late round pick. He has decent size and is apparently one of the best shutdown d-men in the ECHL.

In: RW, Mike Glumac. Acquired via Free Agency (Class III). Signed to a one-year, two-way deal.

Gainey was obviously going for size and experience in his off-season moves. Now all we can do is hope for Sundin and that everything goes according to plan.

NHL: Top Three Western Conference Teams to Watch Out For

Bradley Karp — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:54:48 -0400

1. Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy again, meaning that for the second year in a row, the Wings owned the regular season.

Detroit also won the Stanley Cup for the fifth time in the past 13 years, making them as close to a dynasty as we will ever get with a salary cap and league parity.

They have kept a core group of players, and all of them reiterating their loyalty to the team by re-signing at the midpoint of the season.

The Wings have been heavy contenders for the last ten years, and never seem to get any worse, no matter how old they are. With young superstars like Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Valeteri Filppula, and Johan Franzen, it seems that they have the perfect blend of youngsters and grizzled veterans

The Wings are perfect at every position—not only on the ice, but in the front office as well, with their top three scorers being picked in the last two rounds of their respective NHL Entry Drafts.

The Wings' dynasty is only beginning, because the younger players will just get better and the upper management of this team cannot be compared to that of any sport.

With the grind line of Maltby, McCarthy and Draper stayinng in Detroit, the Wings have a line with nine Cups between them.

Look for the grinders to add another one next year.

2. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have consistently been one of the worst teams in the NHL over the past decade.

But their time might be coming soon. With a team full of young and budding superstars, the only thing the Kings need is a good head coach, which they are on the market for right now.

With amazing young talent like, Jonathan Bernier, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Patrick O'Sullivan, Jack Johnson, and Oscar Moller, the Kings are loaded with former first-round picks, and could be a juggernaut team with the right coaching.

This may come as a surprise to many people, but I feel that if the Kings can get that top-notch coach and a premier defenseman, they can become the Philadelphia Flyers of 2009.

3. Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars are in the same boat as their rival Detroit. Unfortunately, they have stayed in the shadows of the Red Wings, which may be be the reason nobody gives them any credit.

They too, like the Wings, have a grizzled cast of veterans to go along with young stars like Loui Eriksson, Matt Niskanen, Marc Fistric, Niclas Grossman, and Konstantin Pushkarev.

They have under contract one of the best money goalies in the league—Marty Turco—guarding the pipes.

The Stars have star power with Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards giving them four All-Star centermen. The only thing that seems to be holding the Stars back from winning another Cup is their inability to crank out big goals in big games.

But that comes with experience—and the Stars certainly gained plenty in the 2008 playoffs.

The Top Threats to the Top Three:

1. San Jose Sharks

They have consistently been in the top five over the last four years.

2. Minnesota Wild

Time should be on their side—it's been too long since they've had some playoff success.

Bob Gainey the New King of Montreal

Bradley Karp — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:51:38 -0400

In 2004, Bob Gainey picked up superstar Alexei Kovalev from the New York Rangers for Josef Balej and a second-round pick.

Now, Gainey has brought some fresh talent into Montreal for nothing more than the 25th pick in 2008 and a second-round pick in 2009.

Dare I say Gainey has just pulled the wool over the eyes of 29 other GMs twice in the past four years?

If no one has noticed, Alex Kovalev has put up 227 points since joining the Canadiens, including the playoffs.

Josef Balej has put up six points while only playing 14 NHL games since being traded, and Bruce Graham (the player the Rangers selected in 2004) hasn’t played a single minute in the NHL. That's a 221-point difference in favor of Bob Gainey.

Now, Alex Tanguay—formerly of the Calgary Flames—is a Montreal Canadien.

He is a skilled player, speedy, and French Canadian—the perfect fit for the Canadiens. Tanguay is what the standard Quebecois Habs fans have been asking for since Gainey inherited the throne in Montreal.

With the Habs having so much young depth on the team and in the AHL, it was an easy decision for Gainey to give up his first-round selection in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

With that 25th slot in this year’s draft, the Flames selected Windsor Spitfires Center Joel Gistedt, the 22nd-ranked North American skater. He put up 67 points in 68 games this season in the OHL.

It is expected Joel will take a few years to work his way up to the NHL, and even then, he will be a second-liner at best.

Even though the Canadiens also gave up their second-round pick next year, they still have one more from Washington, from the trade that sent Cristobal Huet to the Caps on deadline day.

This is two steals for Gainey—and none for the 29 other GMs in the NHL—since his highness arrived in "La Belle Province."

Lets see if he can get another check in the win column before the season starts in 2009.

San Jose Sharks: Evgeni Nabokov Wins The Vezina Trophy

Bradley Karp — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:03:42 -0400

This year's winner of the Vezina Trophy is Evgeni Nabokov.

When the San Jose Sharks sent Vesa Toskala to Toronto for the No. 13 overall pick in last year's NHL entry draft, they showed they believed Evgeni could become a star in the NHL. Boy, were they right.

After platooning last season with Toskala, Evgeni had a chance to show that he was the real No. 1 in San Jose.

Evgeni played the first 43 regular-season games for the Sharks, without sitting on the bench. In those 43 games, he won 25. That was equal to the amount of games he won all of last year, when he played in 50 games.

He finished the season with a league-leading 46 wins, nine more than his personal best, set in 2001-2002. He had a save percentage of .910, a GAA of 2.14, and six shutouts.

Nabokov carried his team on his back, playing 77 of 82 regular season games. Out of those 77, he won 26 one-goal games, mostly because of him. His stellar and consistent play allowed San Jose’s forwards to concentrate on their scoring efforts, and not worry so much about their defensive coverage.

“At one point this season we were on pace to score 50 fewer goals than we scored last season,” his coach Ron Wilson said. “And when you look back, the guy who carried us was Nabber.”

On a team full of question marks, it seemed that the answer was between the pipes all along. That is why Evgeni Nabokov takes home the Vezina.

Detroit Red Wings: Nicklas Lidstrom Wins Norris Trophy

Bradley Karp — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:01:16 -0400

This year's James Norris Memorial Trophy winner is Nicklas Lidstrom. The proficient Swede had another outstanding season, which by now should not surprise anyone.

He led all defensemen in points, assists, and plus/minus this season, amassing 70 points, 60 assists and a +40 rating. It was the first time in Nick’s 16-year pro career that he led the league in major offensive statistics.

This not the only time Nick has won the award. He is the Norris king, having won the title five times in the last six seasons. The thing with Lidstrom is that he has never been considered an offensive defenseman.

“He is just always there, at the right time, all the time,” said Detroit GM Ken Holland. “His game is so perfect; everything is calculated. Other teams don't pay much attention to him because his game is so quiet, yet so perfect. But the stats don't lie; he had an amazing year.”

Not only does he play 28 minutes a night, but he’s on the penalty killing and power play teams. He is on the ice for any situation. That is why Nicklas Lidstrom takes home the Norris trophy again, for the sixth time in seven years.