BettmanStandUp

October 5th 2012 – Every day it seems like we are learning something new about the lockout whether it be from the NHLPA side or the Owners but a lot of people don’t fully understand every aspect of information that is thrown at them so here are a few confusing details explained. NHL’ers playing in the KHL aren’t taking money from KHLers just ice time “Our clubs have been granted the opportunity to enter into contracts and place on their main rosters no more than three NHL players, and the previously established limit of 25 players per team may be exceeded by the addition of these players” – Vladamir Shalaev KHL VP of Hockey Ops. There has been alot of negative talks about Russian players going back home and taking jobs from guys who are trying to make a living doing what they love. The KHL roster is allowed to be exceeded by the normal 25 man limit for the 3 NHL players on each team so players for the KHL may be a healthy scratch but sitting in the press box watching and collecting your FULL paycheque is a hell of a lot better than being bumped down to the 2nd tier Russian league and being paid a fraction of your contract. Don’t forgot that this is hockey and all those North American players who couldn’t make the NHL and went over to Europe to continue their careers took a roster spot and job from a European hopeful. So complaining of NHL players bumping guys from teams is stupid. Hockey is a sport and in any sport there is always someone trying to take your spot and it (usually) goes to the best player. NHLPA have time on their side Last lockout the NHLPA held out for an entire year lost salary for a whole season and eventually caved and accepted salary rollbacks, a salary cap and numerous other Bettman demands. The reason? Because the NHL Owners back in 2004-05 didnt care if they missed a whole season or longer. The NHL was losing money in its last season before the lockout so cancelling a season was not a big deal for Bettman and the owners. This time the NHL has been raking in record growths and money and while yes players do eat a loss of a year’s salary the NHL owners are the ones who are really losing big. The longer this lockout goes into the regular season the more the NHL owners start feeling the heat. Plus now over 100 of 700 NHLers are playing in Europe and those are mostly the big name stars so it is clear players can find work a hell of a lot easier than owners during a lockout. The Owners are united…Right? The last lockout the Owners were 100% united getting a salary cap and rollback would help every team in the league and it did help grow the game to record highs these past few years. But now though the owners put on a happy face and say they are united there are a clear sign that is not true. The “Bettman Franchises” of Florida, Phoenix and Columbus are eating up every other owner’s hard work just to stay afloat. These franchises lose money every year and don’t even belong in the NHL. You think the owner’s in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit and all Canadian Team owners are happy that their revenue generated goes to places like Florida and Columbus just so they can stay open and play to an arena only 12,000 strong? This time it is personal for the NHLPA Read any interview with an NHL player and there is one thing you will always hear and that is resentment for Gary Bettman. Adrian Dater of the Denver Post interviewed a few players on Bettman and this was his findings: “No way in hell is the short, old guy with the New York accent who never played the game going to push them around this time. They have their rallying cry this time, and his name is Gary Bettman and anything short of total victory over this man won’t be acceptable to the rank-and-file of the NHL players union this time around” – Adrian Dater on NHL Players view of Bettman, Denver Post Another player was anonymously interviewed and said they would be united as long as it took just to wipe the smirk off Bettman’s face. Sure I guess it would be easy for the NHL players to be blamed as much as the owners are but if the NHL Owners really think they can hand out these contracts season after season (even right before the CBA expired) and then just complain to Bettman so he locks the players out until they agree to rollback their salaries 24% from an AGREED and SIGNED contract, then what is to stop the NHL owners from doing this again every couple of years that they are unhappy with something? If the NHLPA stays strong this time, it is for the greater good though in the battle between Billionaires and Millionaires its always the fan who loses the most. Follow us on Twitter: @Bettmanstandup

September 18th 2012 - His arrival was one of the most highly anticipated and welcomed arrivals of any sports figure in recent Toronto memory. When Brian Burke took over as GM of the Maple Leafs it was seen as the end of incompetence in Leafs Nation. Burke arrived in November 2008 and assured Torontonians that there would be no need to wait for a 5 year rebuild, as he says “I'm not interested … in a five-year rebuild like some of these teams have done”. Well Burke we are onto year 4 and no results and he is running out of scapegoats fast. When Burke first arrived the scapegoat was the roster. And it was true for the 08/09 and 09/10 season Burke had very little to work with, But in 2010/11 He had put together a roster of Kessel, Phaneuf, Reimer, Lupul, Gunnarsson, Kulemin, McCarthur and Grabovski. The trade to land Lupul and Phaneuf were great deals, the Kessel one is now synonymous with the words bad trade. Reimer, Grabovski, Kulemin and Gunnarsson he inherited. James Reimer has played sub-par but continues to be endorsed by Burke as the “real deal” and the reason why Toronto did not aggressively pursue a goalie in the 2012 off season. So now the roster can’t be used as a Scapegoat, so now what? Well now it’s the trade deadline. When Toronto went into a horrible slump this past season (11/12) Burke said his players were playing nervous because of the NHL trade deadline. Apparently the thought of the deadline caused every Leaf player to play like crap the weeks leading up to it. Once the trade deadline passed (With Burke having no activity I might add) he needed to find a new scapegoat. Enter Ron Wilson, I am sure every Leaf fan would have endorsed Wilson being fired after the 2011 season but Burke doesn’t do that to his best pal. Wilson coached the team to a surprisingly good first 50 games and was even rewarded with a one year contract extension on Christmas (taking away any motivation to keep up the good work I guess). When the team had swooned and Burke feeling the heat he finally pulled the trigger firing Wilson March 2nd 2012. He hired his old Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle who with Burke won the 2007 Stanley Cup.Under Carlyle the Leafs did not improve and ended the season 13th in the East. James Reimer had finished the year a dismal 14-14-4 with a 3.10 GAA. In the offseason Burke let Gustavsson walk as a UFA and traded Luke Schenn for James Van Reimsdyk and signed Jay McClement. Ensuring that the Leafs enter the season (whenever the lockout ends) with an almost identical one as the team that was the 13th best in the East. Even more alarming was that aside from Schenn, who wasn’t the root of any defensive problem the Leafs were returning with the same group of Defenceman that ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every important defensive statistic, and a goaltending tandem with more uncertainty than a John Ferguson Jr. draft pick. Now, Recently Leafs goalie coach Francois Allaire has decided to leave the team saying the Leafs had too many people telling the goalies what to do and not having enough ice time with the goalies on his own. It was revealed that Burke had approached Allaire once the 2011-12 season concluded seeking to sign him to an extension. Once Allaire spoke out against the Leafs, Burke was quick to respond saying the Leafs only intervened because they felt his style of teaching goalies is “outdated”. So Burke wanted to give Allaire an extension even though his methods were outdated now? Everything about the Toronto Maple Leafs have changed since 2008 expect one thing, and yet still no playoffs. If the Leafs want to compete again they may need to look elsewhere than Brian Burke. Mr. Burke, you are running out of scapegoats. Follow us on Twitter: @bettmanstandup

Tuesday September 4th 2012 – If you played on the Toronto Maple Leafs last season chances are you either had an excellent season or a bad one, very few players were in between. Players like Kessel, Lupul, Phaneuf, Grabovski and Gardiner had excellent seasons. Players like Komisarek, Connolly, Kulemin, Liles, Reimer and Cody Franson all had bad years. There were some players who didn’t exactly disappoint (Macarthur,Bozak) but didn’t have a season to brag about either. Phil Kessel led the way for great seasons with 82 points, line mate Lupul also put together a point per game effort totalling 67 in 66 games. The captain Dion Phaneuf rediscovered his offensive game totalling 44 points for the most since 08/09 in Calgary. Grabovski was once again a consistent two way force and put up over 50 points for the second consecutive season. Jake Gardiner constantly made headlines for showing poise and skill beyond his years for a superb rookie campaign. It was all downhill from there in Leaf land. The big off season acquisition Tim Connolly made a good first impression potting 12 points in his first 12 games, but got injured and upon return just wasn’t an effective offensive force. Connolly ended the season with 36 points in 70 games his worse point total since 2003. Though Nikolai Kulemin continued to be a good two way player he was looking to build on his 30 goal 57 points in 10/11, he constantly had trouble finding the back of the net putting up just 7 goals and 28 points in 70 games, the worst totals of his career. Mike Komisarek certainly didn’t enter the season with high expectations but constantly being a healthy scratch and 1 goal 5 points and a career worse – 13 in 45 games was disappointing for any defenseman let alone one that makes 4.5M. Cody Franson did not disappoint as badly as the others as he put up 21 points in 57 games but constantly found him mismanaged by then coach Ron Wilson. John Michael Liles had two very different halves to his season. Liles found himself contributing regularly during the first half of the season and thats when the Leafs had the most success, a headshot by Gaustad left Liles with a concussion and he just wasn’t the same player when he returned from the injury. To make it worse Brian Burke resigned Liles to a 4 year 15.5M contract before seeing how Liles would play after his concussion. Lastly there was James Reimer, Optimus Reim, The Reiminister, Good Ol’ JR (Ok no one called him that) He was one of the reasons for hope after 2010/11 and 5 games into this past season he also suffered a concussion and was out for an extended period of time. Reimer went 14-14-4 with a .900 sv % and a 3.10 GAA. So who can bounce back and who should we just move on from? James Reimer has been training hard all summer and seems determined to re-establish himself as a legitimate #1 goalie in the NHL. His training and focus has apparently led GM Brian Burke to not pursue other options in net as aggressively. Nikolai Kulemin seems the safest bet to have a bounce back campaign, he may not score 30 again but his a proven third liner who can put up 15-20 goals a season and is responsible in his own end. Cody Franson should do better under Carlyle as he could be sculpted into a Beauchamin type that Carlyle had with the Ducks. Liles remains a question mark because of how drastically his game seemed affected after he returned from injury. Connolly and Komisarek are two players who you should not expect much from this coming season, I believe Komisarek can make himself a good third pairing/penalty killer but his days of being a top 4 D man are over. Connolly brings alot of question marks into his game such as inconsistent, injury prone, lack of defensive responsibility to remain a top 6 forward with the leafs expect around 40 points for him. Brian Burke’s lack of moves this summer could prove costly if these players cannot bounce back, only time will tell. Follow us on Twitter: @Bettmanstandup For more Leafs Info follow: @Unofficial_TML

Yeah, Detroit is as close to a playoff gaurentee that I can think of but I dont see them contending for the cup next season and age is really becoming a factor but they have developed players well but as you said theres no replacing #5

It is true what he says, owners for almost every team gave out long term contracts with throw away years at the end and now they complain about it? They cause the problems in the first place. And its annoying that a few teams in bad locations (that Bettman approved) take up so much time and resources and money from the other 20 something teams that can get a good audience.

Its late August, another lockout is threatening the start of the season and there is barely any hockey news going on. So here we are to give you my favorite 5 moments from Mad Mike Milburys life because I just don’t feel like being the 100th person to write a potential lockout article. If you don’t know who Mike Milbury is just Youtube him and sit back and enjoy. He played over 750 games for Boston in the NHL and coached for the Bruins and Islanders and also served as general manager of the Islanders from 95-06. When he was fired he moved into broadcasting for NBC and Hockey Night in Canada. Here are the top 5 moments from Mad Mikes life. 1.) His Trades Mike Milbury was the GM of the Islanders from 1995-2006 and did get them to the playoffs a couple of times while operating under a budget but he won’t be remembered for those, he made some of the most lopsided trades in NHL history during his tenure as GM. Some include: Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan McCabe and a 3rd round pick (Jarko Ruutu) for Trevor Linden. After being traded to Vancouver Bertuzzi put up 6 straight seasons with at least 50 points before being dealt in the summer of 2006. McCabe played 3 years between Vancouver and Chicago before finding a home in Toronto for 7 seasons including 3 straight with at least 53 points. He then went on to captain the Florida Panthers before retiring the summer of 2011. Ruutu would go on to be known as an agitator and play over 650 games in the NHL. Linden played just 107 games for the Islanders putting up 64 points before being traded for a 1st rd draft pick that never panned out. Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and a 1st rd pick (Jason Spezza) for Alexei Yashin Chara helped the Senators become top contenders in the league and then moved on to captain the Bruins to a 2011 Stanley Cup and become a Norris trophy winner, Jason Spezza has played his entire career in Ottawa putting up 616 points in 606 games. Yashin played 5 seasons for the Islanders and never was able to lead them past the first round. He has spent the last 5 seasons playing in Russia. Olli Jokinen and Roberto Luongo for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kavasha Jokinen would go onto post 5 straight seasons with at least 50 points including 3 straight years with at least 70 points and serve as Florida’s captain from 2003-08. Roberto Luongo would go on to post 7 straight seasons with at least 31 wins, win gold for Canada at the Olympics and backstop the Canucks to game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. Mark Parrish would post 4 straight seasons with 23 or more goals for the Islanders played 4 seasons peaking at 51 points. Compared to the success of Luongo and Jokinen though this deal turned out to be one of the worst. 2.) Signed Alexei Yashin to a 10 year $90M Contract. Yashin was never able to produce more than a point a game like he did with the Senators in fact his first season with the Islanders where he posted 75 points in 78 games was his best season as he slipped to 65 points the following season. After posting 50 points in 58 games at the conclusion of the 06/07 season he was bought out by the Islanders which left the Islanders with a hit of 2.2 M for 8 years. 3.) Drafted Rick DiPietro 1st Overall DiPietro has 4 straight seasons where he played at least 50 games and got the Islanders to the playoffs once. Ever since 2008-12 he played just 47 games over those 4 seasons. What makes it worse is that the Islanders could have drafted Dany Heatley or Marian Gaborik. 4.) Hit a fan with his shoe Now you are starting to realize why he’s called Mad Mike. It was December 23rd 1979 and Mike Milbury is already on his way to the dressing room after a game against the NY Rangers. A Rangers fan cuts Milburys teammate Stan Jonathan with a rolled up program which leads to fellow Bruins teammate O’Reily and Peter McNabb and Mike Milbury all go over the glass and join in on the brawl. Milbury catches the guy takes off his shoe and whacks him over the head with the heel end of it. Milbury was suspended 6 games and fined 500 dollars for his involvement. 5.) The stupidity that flows from his mouth On his legacy of beating a fan with a shoe: “It’s unbelievable that after more than 30 years in the game, pummeling a guy with his loafer will be my legacy. But I guess it’s better than having no legacy at all.” When he joined the Islanders organization: “Screw the Rangers. Screw the Devils.” On the 2010 Russian Olympic team “”I’m so disappointed that they came with their Eurotrash game.” On his biggest mistake: “Don’t mistake me, … It’s time for Alexei to have a breakout season. The table’s been set for him to break out.” On Dan Byslma “I thought Dan Bylsma should have taken off his skirt and been over there himself,” Follow us on Twitter @BettmanStandUp

If there is one thing we have all learned is that a long term contract does not gaurentee anything in Philly. JVR, Carter and Richards can atest to that, but as for the amount it isnt bad if he stays on the top line and is healthy I see him being a 30/30 guy like last season and with a 4.75 cap hit it really isnt bad for a guy coming off of a 37 goal season. People like Leino, Connolly and Komisarek have the same cap hit and are much less valuable to their respective teams.

It appears as though he will tweet about any random person who posted a potential trade, and with the amount of supposed "rumored deals" to be going down of course he does sometimes get it right but he is mostly speculation and would not read too much into it. Besides Patrick Kane and Blackhawks front office both admitted to needing for Kane to be more self aware of his public image and grow up so it seems he has managements support and dont think he would be traded unless he continues to have his social life embarass the Blackhawks.

August 19th 2012 – It can happen to any professional sports team, for one reason or the other a star player wants out of the city whether it is because of the team’s issues or personal ones it is one of the most common things to happen in professional sports. Enter the Toronto Maple Leafs, long cited as one of hockey’s most storied franchises seems to have trouble acquiring and hanging onto star players. When you scan over the roster for the upcoming (hopefully) 2012/13 season we see one true star on the team and that is Phil Kessel, he has developed his offensive and defensive game every season he’s played in the blue and white to the point where he finished 6th in league scoring with 37 goals and 82 points in 82 games. Of course Phil Kessel was not drafted by the Leafs, he was acquired from Boston in the now infamous deal that sent away a 2nd and 9th overall pick and a 2nd rounder. For this reason Kessel will forever be linked to Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton and remember none of this was Kessel’s choice. He has never been pegged as a player you can build a team around but that seems to be the expectation in Toronto, which naturally leads Leaf fans to be disappointed in him when Toronto doesn’t make the playoffs come April. But is it fair to blame Kessel? He never asked to be the guy chosen to reverse the misfortune of a once great franchise and up until this past season he didn’t have any support. Toronto has never been known as a team that drafts well and since being the only team post lockout to not make the playoffs they have become one of the first places potential free agents pass over for more competitive teams. You can’t blame a player for wanting to play on a team where he has a chance to win and not be in the eye of the media constantly. Toronto is defiantly not an attractive destination for free agents and if they can’t buy a star they better be able to produce one, but as we all know they have one of the worst draft records post lockout. Remember back in 2008 when Luke Schenn was picked 5th and immediately compared to Adam Foote and hailed as a potential Norris trophy winner one day? And after making the team his first camp those believers in him only grew. 4 years later and Schenn is now a Flyer. Nazem Kadri was taken 7th overall ahead of the likes of Zack Kassian, Chris Kreider, Ryan Ellis and Dimitri Kulikov. When Kadri was drafted he was touted as a first line talent, 3 years later and he has played 51 games putting up 19 points and while there is still time for him to develop Leaf fans are quickly seeing he is not going to be as good as once hoped. So if Toronto can’t draft a star, or lure one to the city via free agency it seems smart to try and hold onto the only one they have. Sure Phil Kessel is soft and defensive game isn’t the best but that wasn’t why he was acquired. He was acquired to produce offensively and he has done that every season he has worn the blue and white. Kessel has 2 more years left on his contract and if Toronto isn’t a competitive team by then I wouldn’t blame him for leaving the team. Anything and everything is expected of Kessel in Toronto and it seems no matter what there is the media there to get on his back when he has gone 2 games without a goal. Toronto is going to have to figure out a way to turn the franchise around and I doubt they will find the answers as long as Brian Burke is GM but the clock is ticking, two years and their only star player could be headed out of town. The only question is could you blame him if he did? Follow us on Twitter @BettmanStandUp

With Nicklas Lidstrom retired and Brad Stuart requesting a trade to the west coast, the Detroit Red Wings defence will look a lot different next season. In years past they could handle a defenseman leaving through trade or free agency by being patient and using what they had in their system the reason they could do that was because they had one of the best defenseman who ever played the game on their roster. Now that Lidstrom is retired they no longer have that calming presence he created every time he was on the ice. The veteran leadership Lidstrom provided aside the Detroit Red Wings knew they needed to change things up going into the 12/13 season. They won’t find a replacement for Lidstrom but they do need someone on the back end and in this article we examine their best options. A Red Wing staple has always been promoting from within and so the first option we look at is 2007 1st round draft pick Brendan Smith. The Red Wings certainly have let him develop by giving him 3 years in U.S College Hockey and then one season in the AHL before splitting time between the AHL and the big club this year. He appeared in 14 games for Detroit and 57 more in Grand Rapids. In the AHL he had 10 Goals 24 Assists for 34 points and a + 2, in 14 games in Motown he put up 1 goal 6 assists for 7 points and a +3. He is ready to make the jump as a full time NHL defenseman but I don’t see him as anything more than a 2nd pairing D man next season. He seems more suited to fill the void left by Stuart which would still leave Detroit seeking a top pairing D man. Maybe Nik Kronwall can step up and become the top guy on Detroit’s backend, he has the offensive skills and his style of play keeps opposing players from getting too comfy in Detroit’s end. Detroit’s second option and most likely is by a trade, not many teams are looking to give up top pairing defenseman and if they are they want a lot of assets that Detroit just doesn’t have in order to get them. Jay Bouwmeester is a name that is constantly linked to Detroit, he seems a good fit and if he can return to his Florida rate of play he could excel in Detroit’s puck possession system. Robyn Regehr is a player who hasn’t exactly enjoyed success post Calgary and may be looking to change things up. His veteran presence would be a welcome addition. Detroit has a final option and that is free agency, but considering it is now almost mid August the pickings are slim. The best available free agent D man I see is Pavel Kubina and Carlo Colaiacovo. Kubina can put up offensive numbers in the right situation but he is too old and doesn’t skate quick enough to hold the defensive responsibilities of a top pairing defenseman. Colaiacovo is an intriguing option as he is pretty young at 29, put up 19 points in just 64 games and playing for Hitchcock last season can really help him going forward. All in all look for the Detorit back end to struggle a bit at the start of the season as they adjust to life without Lidstrom for the first time since 1991. For them to be a contender again next season Brendan Smith has to make the jump to full time NHLer and they need atleast one more top 4 Defenseman. Follow us on twitter @BettmanStandUp

Well now Bettman has gone to the media with his ultimatium. Sept. 15th new deal needs to be reached or thats the day they get officially locked out