All blogged up and nothing to write about it. Thus is the curse of the annual sports dead zone which starts when the Stanley Cup finals conclude and ends on opening Sunday of the NFL season, when or if that occurs.
In the interim we get NHL hot stove talk mixed in with baseball; lots and lots of baseball. If you happen to live in a city where baseball thrives, that’s a palatable situation. If you happen to live in Chicago after growing up in Pittsburgh, well let’s just say I’m praying for a timely end to the NFL’s ludicrous work stoppage.
You think it’s a coincidence this blog has gone from a weekly to a monthly publication since Memorial Day?
Thankfully all hope is not lost; not with specter of Jaromir Jagr’s return to Pittsburgh. That would be 39 year old Jaromir Jagr who has spent the last three years plying his trade in Russia. That’s the same Jagr who for the better part of a decade has been treated with Hossa like disdain by most Penguin fans.
Of course that’s also the Jaromir Jagr who for 15 years was one of the greatest offensive players in NHL history. The same Jagr who was an integral part of two Stanley Cup champions in Pittsburgh; the same Jagr who dominated the NHL in the 90s and kept the Pens afloat as their talent was gradually siphoned off. This is the Jaromir Jagr whose virtuoso brilliance motived me to pen the attached blog entry below two years ago.
http://ahaberman35.livejournal.com/6810.html
And yes that’s the same Jagr who could be moody, pouty, and selfish almost on a whim. The Jagr who was a disaster as captain (though generally ok before that) and alienated most of the Penguin fans base on the way out of the Burgh. The same player who is indirectly responsible for Kris Beech wearing a Penguin uniform.
All of which is to admit that the circumstances of Jagr’s potential return are a fair bit complex.
So let’s simplify it.
First off, forget the past; the good, the bad, and the ugly. For my money Jagr is second only to Mario Lemieux in the annals of Penguin history but that is irrelevant today. The Pens are hoping he can contribute 25 goals or so and breathe life in to their morbid power play. The only relevant question is whether he can do that now; not what he could do in 1995 or did do in 2001.
Which also means forgetting Jagr’s acrimonious departure. It means forgetting the pouting, the dying alive and hardest of all, the carnage that was left behind. It’s water under the bridge now. The Penguins have moved well beyond it as has Jagr. The rest of us should join them.
For the record, I maintain that the treatment of Jagr since he left the Burgh has been disgraceful; a rare blight on an otherwise terrific fan base. Jagr is not a candidate for sainthood but he’s not Barry Bonds either. His departure from Pittsburgh, with little tangible return was inevitable; a point that was reinforced by the Alexie Kovalev deja vu deal two years later. The entire situation could have been handled with more grace on both ends but Jagr has been wrongly cast as the man who torched the Pens franchise. In truth, that ship had already sailed.
Jagr is an all time great Penguin who should be celebrated as such. If returning to Pittsburgh helps bring this about while burying what I consider a shameful part of Penguin history, that’s a nice ancillary benefit.
Second, the Penguins need Jagr; or at least someone with his current skill set. In a painfully thin free agent year where Tyler Kenney is highly sought after; old number 68 is likely their best hope.
Assuming (and praying) for the return to full health of Crosby and Malkin, this is a team with two brilliant centers and nary an elite offensive winger. If that evaluation sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve been regurgitating some variation it for the better part of three years.
Do you ever dream about what Sid the Kid could do with a legitimate 40 goal scorer on his wing. Notwithstanding my well documented issues with Marian Hossa, think back to the results when he and Sid played together in 2008. I’m not saying Jagr can be that good at his age; but he can be a lot better than Pascal Dupuis, Tyler Kennedy or Eric Tangradi. This assumes of course that Jagr does not sign a one year deal with Detroit because “it gives him the best chance to win the Stanley Cup” (oh the humanity).
We have lived through three years where Chris Kunitz was FAR AND AWAY the Penguins’ best offensive winger. Let me repeat that…Chris Kunitz. The guy who went from April to November 2009 without scoring (or at least it seemed that way). And while I applauded and fully endorsed the acquisition of James Neal; it’s hard to be too excited about a guy who scored three goals in his last 50 or so games last season. I’m expecting better this year (worse is hard to comprehend) but l admit my Neal optimism has been tarnished a bit.
Beyond that it’s an eclectic combination of checking line caliber wingers and hopeful but uncertain prospects. For a team that has legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, that situation is not acceptable. The Pens are too good and have too much upside to be so reliant on the two headed monster.
And I have devoted barely a sentence to discussing the power play; a unit that is disturbingly bad with Malkin and Crosby and flat out unwatchable without them. I have to believe on some level that Jagr could benefit the man advantage. It seems inconceivable he could hurt it. The Pens will not win the Cup if Kris Letang spends another year reprising Mike Eurozione’s role during the early training days of Herb Brooks’ miracle team. AGAIN !!!
To reiterate, the Pens need Jagr and they need him bad.
I’m talking about the Jagr of today, not the Jagr of ten years ago. They need a talented winger with legitimate 25 goal ability regardless of who his center is. They need somebody other than 87 or 71 who can change the game offensively. Even if Neal or Tangradi is the real deal, neither has that ability. And unlike his last few years in the Burgh, Jagr will not be asked to carry the team on the ice or the burden of leadership off it.
Yes there are risks involved but consider that over the last three years Ray Shero out of necessity has played musical chairs with his wingers. If we as Penguin fans were willing to accept and endorse the risks implicit in signing Miro Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and for the love of all that’s good and holy Alex Ponikarovsky, why not a clearly superior player in the same role? I’m willing to wager that Jagr right now is better than any of those players in their prime. And he’s certainly as good as Bill Guerin was when he arrived in the Burgh.
Please resist comparisons to Kovalev version 2011. That was a desperation acquisition by Shero hoping to catch short-term lightning in a bottle. The Pens would NEVER have made that move with 87 and 71 healthy. Kovy was clearly washed up before he arrived in the Burgh and let’s be honest; even in his prime was not exactly touted for his work ethic. Kovalev at his best was an elite talent; Jagr an elite player.
Obviously the money has to work. If the Dead Wings or Habs wants to offer Jagr $5 Million per there is not much the Pens can do about that. Jagr once said he would take the league minimum to play for Mario Lemieux. That’s more than charitable but I’ll settle for getting him in at $3.5 Million or less. Then we can leave the other roster decisions, including Kennedy and Max Talbot in Shero’s capable hands.
The ball is now in Jaromir’s court; all we can do is wait and hope. Thankfully or sadly, at this time of year there is not much else for sports fans to do.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Cry No Tears for the Thrashers
I was mildly surprised to read several scathing articles in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, shredding the NHL for allowing the Thrashers to move to Winnipeg.
To wit, I simply did not think anybody in Atlanta cared enough to even notice.
I can not help but wonder if the Atlanta media is truly incredulous towards losing the Thrashers, or if blasting Gary Bettman just makes for good newspaper copy. Especially when several reader comments bemoan the scarcity of hockey related articles from the writer during say…the Obama administration.
My personal belief is that few tears will be shed for the demise of hockey in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
At the risk of trampling on Atlanta’s sports grave, I think Tuesday was a positive day for the NHL. The league is exiting a large, non traditional market that is at best apathetic and at worst could care less about its product. They are returning to a small Canadian city that lives and dies with the sport. The NHL has not made a move like this in some 30 years; since the last time Atlanta lost a hockey team to Canada. Some believe this move is an aberration. I hope it’s the start of the NHL finally coming to its senses.
I personally do not care for hockey in markets that clearly have no desire to support it. The poster children for this issue are Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix. I differentiate markets like Carolina, Tampa, and Anaheim which I think have enough support to be successful at some level.
I also think the NHL is bloated at 30 teams. The league’s nine team expansion in the 90s, primarily to non traditional markets was reckless and over ambitious. I was against it from day one and little has changed in the last decade to sway my beliefs. I would just assume move a few clubs back to more supportive markets and I believe that contraction should very much be on the table.
I acknowledge that it is easy to make such bold proclamations with somebody else’s team. I was not so much at peace with the concepts of franchise movement and contraction in the late 1990s when the Penguins were a legitimate contender for either. As an insider, I was well aware of the depth of hockey passion in Pittsburgh that was not always reflected in the team’s attendance at that time. An outsider, especially one with a short memory might easily have scorned Pittsburgh as a failed hockey market place.
Which is not to suggest that moving the Thrashers is a bad thing. Quite the contrary.
Atlanta has now had two bites at the hockey apple and both have failed. I’ve read articles suggesting extenuating circumstances in each case but the reality is, the city for whatever reason has failed to support the team. Blame bad ownership and/or bad teams if you want. Just understand that Atlanta and its fans were given a second shot to support a team and failed to do so.
That is in stark contrast to a Penguins franchise that struggled financially due to their owner selling the team’s future down the river and a horrifically outdated arena that could not generate enough revenue to compensate. We as Penguin fans probably do not truly appreciate the magnitude of Howard Baldwin’s financial carnage in the mid 90s. It’s purely by the grace of Mario Lemieux’s deferred salary that the team survived in the Burgh.
That’s why I’m hesitant to simply dump on Bettman for the Atlanta situation. Bettman certainly has his flaws and they are readily apparent. And he will ultimately have to explain why he’s moved heaven and earth to save the Coyotes in Phoenix while showing little such zeal for Atlanta. At the same time, he was instrumental in keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh during the ill fated Jim Balsille flirtation. He also protected Buffalo, Ottawa and even Nashville.
Unfortunately the NHL’s actions with Phoenix raised the league’s bar for franchise protection way too high. When they fail to similarly protect Atlanta, Bettman becomes an easy target for sanctimonious media beat downs (and quizzical inquiries from bloggers).
I’m guessing the league’s interest in the Coyotes has more to do with politics and other backroom deals than some altruistic desire to save hockey in Phoenix. When a series of actions make no sense, and the league’s efforts towards the Yotes clearly do not, there are usually alterior motives to which we are not privy.
I sympathize with Atlanta hockey fans; to whatever extent they exist. I’ve said for years that deep down I never expected Mario Lemieux to relocated the Penguins; that does not mean there were not moments of trepidation in the process. It would be completely hypocritical for me to endorse moving a franchise without acknowledging my steadfast opposition and fears when such a possibility existed for the Pens.
Alas the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few. And hockey fans in Atlanta seem to be few and far between. So goes for the rest of the professional teams in that town as well. In spite of being one of the largest cities in the country; Atlanta lags in attendance in all four major professional sports. The Hawks frequently play to friends and family crowds. The Braves had numerous empty seats at playoff games; during a 14 year mini dynasty. Even the Falcons do not regularly sell out.
Let’s be honest, Atlanta losing the Thrashers does not exactly rank with Cleveland losing the Browns or Baltimore losing the Colts. It’s more reminiscent of when the Houston Oilers bolted for Tennessee. Some save the Oilers group organized a rally and as memory serves about 20 people showed up.
For my money, the NHL has gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect its non traditional markets. At some point you have to accept that the plan to some degree is not working.
The issues in Atlanta and Phoenix are obvious and need no further detail in this forum. Sadly they are not unique The Florida Panthers play to embarrassingly low crowds at home and apparently average less than 5,000 fans per game watching them on television. That’s flat out abysmal; a blatant failure that the league should no longer endorse. Those resources are better used to improve struggling markets with a legitimate chance to succeed (i.e., Columbus).
There is an understandable concern that franchise movement and contraction create a bush league perception. Arena football and MLS contract teams; not the four major sports leagues. Keep in mind however that as recently as ten years ago Major League Baseball was seriously considering contraction. And once in awhile its okay for the NHL as whole to take a big hit in order to make a play. The 2005 lockout certainly proved that.
Consider that of the six most recent expansion franchises; only Anaheim has been consistently successful (with Nashville showing bits of hope). Several have been abject failures. Columbus and Atlanta have each made the playoffs just once; failing to win a game. Florida just set an NHL record for most consecutive non playoff seasons. Even Minnesota has struggled.
Enough is enough. It’s time for the league to acknowledge that it grew too fast and too far in the 1990s. Not every market can or should survive. The Thrashers moving to Winnipeg is the first step in facing this reality. It should not be the last..
Let the Yotes and the Panthers go up in smoke. The league would be better off at 28 teams and losing two disinterested markets. And if one or two franchises want to move to better places, so be it. Seattle and Kansas City are open and available in the U.S.; as is Quebec City and Hamilton (theoretically) in Canada.
Sometimes an organization must take a step backward in order to take two steps forward. The NHL is there right now. The league has had enough time to determine which of its markets are viable and which are not. Atlanta failed the test; it should not fail alone.
Appendix: my proposed 28 Team, Four Division Structure:.
Atlantic Division (East) – New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Washington.
Northeast Division (East) – Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto
Central Division (West) – Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St’Louis, Winnipeg
Pacific Division (West) – Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver
To wit, I simply did not think anybody in Atlanta cared enough to even notice.
I can not help but wonder if the Atlanta media is truly incredulous towards losing the Thrashers, or if blasting Gary Bettman just makes for good newspaper copy. Especially when several reader comments bemoan the scarcity of hockey related articles from the writer during say…the Obama administration.
My personal belief is that few tears will be shed for the demise of hockey in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
At the risk of trampling on Atlanta’s sports grave, I think Tuesday was a positive day for the NHL. The league is exiting a large, non traditional market that is at best apathetic and at worst could care less about its product. They are returning to a small Canadian city that lives and dies with the sport. The NHL has not made a move like this in some 30 years; since the last time Atlanta lost a hockey team to Canada. Some believe this move is an aberration. I hope it’s the start of the NHL finally coming to its senses.
I personally do not care for hockey in markets that clearly have no desire to support it. The poster children for this issue are Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix. I differentiate markets like Carolina, Tampa, and Anaheim which I think have enough support to be successful at some level.
I also think the NHL is bloated at 30 teams. The league’s nine team expansion in the 90s, primarily to non traditional markets was reckless and over ambitious. I was against it from day one and little has changed in the last decade to sway my beliefs. I would just assume move a few clubs back to more supportive markets and I believe that contraction should very much be on the table.
I acknowledge that it is easy to make such bold proclamations with somebody else’s team. I was not so much at peace with the concepts of franchise movement and contraction in the late 1990s when the Penguins were a legitimate contender for either. As an insider, I was well aware of the depth of hockey passion in Pittsburgh that was not always reflected in the team’s attendance at that time. An outsider, especially one with a short memory might easily have scorned Pittsburgh as a failed hockey market place.
Which is not to suggest that moving the Thrashers is a bad thing. Quite the contrary.
Atlanta has now had two bites at the hockey apple and both have failed. I’ve read articles suggesting extenuating circumstances in each case but the reality is, the city for whatever reason has failed to support the team. Blame bad ownership and/or bad teams if you want. Just understand that Atlanta and its fans were given a second shot to support a team and failed to do so.
That is in stark contrast to a Penguins franchise that struggled financially due to their owner selling the team’s future down the river and a horrifically outdated arena that could not generate enough revenue to compensate. We as Penguin fans probably do not truly appreciate the magnitude of Howard Baldwin’s financial carnage in the mid 90s. It’s purely by the grace of Mario Lemieux’s deferred salary that the team survived in the Burgh.
That’s why I’m hesitant to simply dump on Bettman for the Atlanta situation. Bettman certainly has his flaws and they are readily apparent. And he will ultimately have to explain why he’s moved heaven and earth to save the Coyotes in Phoenix while showing little such zeal for Atlanta. At the same time, he was instrumental in keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh during the ill fated Jim Balsille flirtation. He also protected Buffalo, Ottawa and even Nashville.
Unfortunately the NHL’s actions with Phoenix raised the league’s bar for franchise protection way too high. When they fail to similarly protect Atlanta, Bettman becomes an easy target for sanctimonious media beat downs (and quizzical inquiries from bloggers).
I’m guessing the league’s interest in the Coyotes has more to do with politics and other backroom deals than some altruistic desire to save hockey in Phoenix. When a series of actions make no sense, and the league’s efforts towards the Yotes clearly do not, there are usually alterior motives to which we are not privy.
I sympathize with Atlanta hockey fans; to whatever extent they exist. I’ve said for years that deep down I never expected Mario Lemieux to relocated the Penguins; that does not mean there were not moments of trepidation in the process. It would be completely hypocritical for me to endorse moving a franchise without acknowledging my steadfast opposition and fears when such a possibility existed for the Pens.
Alas the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few. And hockey fans in Atlanta seem to be few and far between. So goes for the rest of the professional teams in that town as well. In spite of being one of the largest cities in the country; Atlanta lags in attendance in all four major professional sports. The Hawks frequently play to friends and family crowds. The Braves had numerous empty seats at playoff games; during a 14 year mini dynasty. Even the Falcons do not regularly sell out.
Let’s be honest, Atlanta losing the Thrashers does not exactly rank with Cleveland losing the Browns or Baltimore losing the Colts. It’s more reminiscent of when the Houston Oilers bolted for Tennessee. Some save the Oilers group organized a rally and as memory serves about 20 people showed up.
For my money, the NHL has gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect its non traditional markets. At some point you have to accept that the plan to some degree is not working.
The issues in Atlanta and Phoenix are obvious and need no further detail in this forum. Sadly they are not unique The Florida Panthers play to embarrassingly low crowds at home and apparently average less than 5,000 fans per game watching them on television. That’s flat out abysmal; a blatant failure that the league should no longer endorse. Those resources are better used to improve struggling markets with a legitimate chance to succeed (i.e., Columbus).
There is an understandable concern that franchise movement and contraction create a bush league perception. Arena football and MLS contract teams; not the four major sports leagues. Keep in mind however that as recently as ten years ago Major League Baseball was seriously considering contraction. And once in awhile its okay for the NHL as whole to take a big hit in order to make a play. The 2005 lockout certainly proved that.
Consider that of the six most recent expansion franchises; only Anaheim has been consistently successful (with Nashville showing bits of hope). Several have been abject failures. Columbus and Atlanta have each made the playoffs just once; failing to win a game. Florida just set an NHL record for most consecutive non playoff seasons. Even Minnesota has struggled.
Enough is enough. It’s time for the league to acknowledge that it grew too fast and too far in the 1990s. Not every market can or should survive. The Thrashers moving to Winnipeg is the first step in facing this reality. It should not be the last..
Let the Yotes and the Panthers go up in smoke. The league would be better off at 28 teams and losing two disinterested markets. And if one or two franchises want to move to better places, so be it. Seattle and Kansas City are open and available in the U.S.; as is Quebec City and Hamilton (theoretically) in Canada.
Sometimes an organization must take a step backward in order to take two steps forward. The NHL is there right now. The league has had enough time to determine which of its markets are viable and which are not. Atlanta failed the test; it should not fail alone.
Appendix: my proposed 28 Team, Four Division Structure:.
Atlantic Division (East) – New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Washington.
Northeast Division (East) – Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto
Central Division (West) – Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St’Louis, Winnipeg
Pacific Division (West) – Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver
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