The Hockey Stop

The Hockey Gods are cruel. What other explanation do I have for the fact that the Washington Capitals are down 3-0 to a Tampa Bay Lightning team that is hot, yes, but not that much better than the Caps. A bad bounce off Scott Hannan in Game 1. A bad bounce off Mike Green in Game 2. Too many men on the ice for a power-play goal in the first period of Game 3. Nothing is going right for the Caps and everything is going right for the red-hot Lightning.

Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman and head coach Guy Boucher look like geniuses while Caps GM George McPhee and head coach Bruce Boudreau look like they have been outsmarted and outplayed. Alex Ovechkin has been amazing and cannot be faulted. But the rest of his teammates simply haven't been good enough. And Tampa Bay stars Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos have just been better. And Dwayne Roloson has just been slightly better in net than Michal Neuvirth.

Now the Caps are on the brink of another devastating playoff loss. I'm at a loss for words. I won't say Boudreau should be fired. I won't question the character and heart of the players on the ice. Not yet at least. All I can say is the NHL has amazing parity and the playoffs are a crap shoot no matter how good you are. Are the Hockey Gods against us? Are the Caps cursed? I won't try to answer that. All I know is that what was one of the most promising seasons in Caps history could end tomorrow night with a thud in Tampa. And that hurts. It is another dagger in the hearts of long-suffering Caps fans.

Tampa has won the Stanley Cup. The Caps have never won the Cup. We have a great future ahead of us. But four years of playoff futility is hard to take. This is to owner Ted Leonsis: I feel your pain. And I understand if Bruce Boudreau is fired after another mind-boggling playoff disappointment.

The NHL's Southeast Division until as recently as last season was considered the weakest division in hockey. Except for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers were awful compared to the rest of the league.

But ten games into this young season there have been noticeable improvements in every team, most notably the Lightning, who as of October 31st have the second best record in the league at 7-2-1 for 15 points -- one point behind the Los Angeles Kings.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:



New General Manager Steve Yzerman has brought his wealth of experience and winning ways from the Detroit Red Wings to this franchise and has started to put the pieces together to rebuild the Bolts into a championship-caliber team that will challenge the Caps for Southeast supremacy.

In the offseason, Yzerman resigned Martin St. Louis; signed defensemen Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and goaltender Dan Ellis; and brought in Simon Gagne via trade. Those acquisitions added to an already potent lineup that includes Vincent Lecavalier and reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner and goal-scoring machine Steven Stamkos. Last season Stamkos finished with 51 goals and 44 assists for 91 points.

ATLANTA THRASHERS:



The Thrashers, or Chicago South, made a bunch of big moves in the offseason. It started with the organization deciding not to renew the contract of Head Coach Jon Anderson and his coaching staff. Former General Manager Don Waddell was promoted to President of Hockey Operations, Rick Dudley former Assistant GM was promoted to General Manager.

The first move was a major nine-player trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that brought Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and Akim Aliu to Atlanta. Later the Thrashers also traded for Blackhawk Andrew Ladd. The next day the team named Craig Ramsay as the new head coach, along with new staff in other key positions within the organization.

The Thrashers currently sit in third place in the Southeast division with a record of 5-4-2 for 12 points.

CAROLINA HURRICANES:

After an atrocious start to last season, one in which they finished with only 35 wins, the Canes are rebuilding with a youth movement and a veteran goaltender to back them up. So far in this young season former Vezina Award winner Cam Ward has been playing brilliantly.

Carolina has a mix of proven veterans like Ward, Captain Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruttu and Erik Cole and young talent like Jeff Skinner, Brandon Sutter, and eventually, when they are called up, Jon Matsumoto and Bobby Sanguinetti.

The Canes are currently sitting at 5-5-0 with 10 points.

FLORIDA PANTHERS:



The Panthers still have a ways to go until they become an elite team in the NHL. But they are making progress. And they might just be able to avoid the distinction of being the first city with ten consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, although they are probably too soon in their rebuild to make the postseason.

Like the Hurricanes, the Panthers at least have a rock-solid goaltender in Thomas Vokoun, who has the ability to keep them in every game. And new General Manager Dale Tallon is beginning to put his imprint upon the organization. Tallon built the Blackhawks to the current Stanley Cup championship team so the Panthers are in good hands.

Some of the players Tallon nabbed in the offseason were blueliner Dennis Wideman and forward Steve Bernier. Tallon also added Christopher Higgins, Marty Reasoner, Mike Santorelli and Mike Weaver.

The new-look Panthers are currently 4-5-0 with eight points.

A tougher Southeast Division is good for professional hockey because it makes more games competitive and means that there will be more of a fight for every playoff spot. Also, the Capitals are finding out that they won't be able to cruise through the regular season like they have in past years, and the rest of the league is starting to figure out that they can't take any Southeast Division opponent for granted.

Leafs-Ducks-Flames in huge deal

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke had seen enough.

The storied franchise has been mired in mediocrity in recent years and this year has been particularly bad with the Maple Leafs sitting second to bottom in the league with a record of 17-28-11 for 45 points.

Toronto aims to get back on the right track with this blockbuster deal pulled off Sunday -- Toronto gets defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Calgary and Stanley Cup-winning goalie J.S. Giguere from Anaheim.

The rest of the seven-player deal with the Flames includes right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.

My opinion? This is a smart move for Toronto. They needed to shake things up and as the old saying goes -- defense wins Cups and the Leafs just added two stonewalls in back of their blue line. And Phaneuf has the ability to light the lamp often as well, which is always a plus with a defenseman.

Sale of Tampa Bay Lightning could come soon

The financial mess the Lightning face -- the NHL had to bail the ownership out to make payroll -- could soon be resolved, according to a report in the St. Petersburg Times.

The report says that talks are underway about selling the team to Boston hedge fund manager Jeff Vinik. The article says there is speculation that an NHL-brokered deal could happen swiftly.

Many Lightning fans are likely rooting for this deal because the current ownership is not very popular because of their non-hockey background and flashy Hollywood-type decisions such as hiring Barry Melrose as head coach. We all know how that worked out. On the other hand, Vinik is a minority partner in the Boston Red Sox so he knows about how to run a winning franchise. He also managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund in the 1990s so he is wise to the financials and would probably not get himself into a situation where he fails to pay his players.

But the most intriguing part of the story? The speculation from The Hockey News that Vinny Lecavalier may be traded in order for the team to cut costs. Lecavalier would have to waive his no-move clause. He is in his first year of an 11-year, $85 million deal. One potential place Lecavalier could end up is Los Angeles. To be continued ...

Caps aim for franchise record Tuesday

Speaking of the Lightning, the Washington Capitals beat them 3-2 in a matinee affair at the Verizon Center Sunday on a game-winning third period tally from Alex Ovechkin. The win was the Caps' 10th straight, which ties the franchise mark set in 1984.

The red-hot Caps have a chance to set the franchise record for most consecutive regular season wins on Tuesday when they face off against the struggling Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden.

And while Washington's explosive league-leading offense has propelled the team to victory after victory, solid penalty killing and clutch saves from Jose Theodore and Michael Neuvirth have contributed as well.

I've been saying for awhile that the Capitals are one shutdown defenseman away from being a Stanley Cup contender. I still believe General Manager George McPhee will be shopping for a veteran sacrifice-the-body-in-front-of-the-net blueliner to put the final piece of the puzzle in place for a Stanley Cup run.

The goaltending situation I believe to be resolved as this past winning streak has shown. Number one goalie Simeon Varlamov is nearing a return from injury and has been getting some important schooling from Caps goaltending coach Arturs Irbe. Varlamov is sure to match his high skill level with more maturity when he returns. That said, veteran Jose Theodore is playing his best hockey since he became a Cap, and rookie Michael Neuvirth has been playing solid under pressure. Plus there is highly touted prospect Braydon Holtby, who has been tearing it up in Hershey but has yet to play an NHL game. Needless to say, the future between the pipes for the Caps is a bright one.

Jonathan Quick with save of the year?

I expect to be watching a replay of L.A. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick's unbelievable save on the ESPY Awards.

On Sunday in New Jersey, the talented young netminder was sprawled on the ice with bodies in front of him blocking his view when a Devil lifted the puck off the ice into an open net only to see Quick's glove hand rise up and snap the puck out of the air. All this while Quick's eyes were probably staring at the skate blade of one of the players in front of him. It was spectacular and one of the reasons the Kings rallied with two goals late in the third period to win 3-2 and go 5-0 on their road trip.

The Kings are certainly ready for the playoffs and could potentially ride their hot goalie deeper into the postseason than many pundits think they will go.

Here are the game highlights. Quick's spectacular save is at the 4:35 mark:

Could the Tampa Bay Lightning be the next troubled NHL franchise following the Phoenix Coyotes saga?

According to multiple reports, ownership group OK Hockey has defaulted on its loan payments and the National Hockey League had to bail them out to make payroll.

In addition to the league advancing the team money for January's payroll, the reports say the Lightning also received a $2 million advance from Sun Sports to make the final payroll of the 2008-2009 season.

With the sale of Palace Sports a possibility, the sports & entertainment company may want to drop the Lightning from their assets list.

Therefore, their could be an ownership change in the future for the franchise. The search for new ownership/investors has been fruitless so far.

Look for the financial situation of the Tampa Bay Lightning to possibly become a major issue this offseason.

Click here for the full story in the Tampa Tribune.

But the bigger underlying issue with franchises such as Phoenix and Tampa Bay is the failure of ice hockey taking off in some warm weather climes such as Florida and Arizona.

The southern trend started with Wayne Gretzky moving from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988, instantly putting hockey on the Southern California map and paving the way for the Sun Belt relocation frenzy.

Commissioner Gary Bettman's southern strategy has had mixed results. While franchises such as the Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks have prospered, other teams like Tampa, the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes have struggled.

Perhaps these franchises will eventually move back north to cities like Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hamilton, Kansas City, Salt Lake City or Seattle.

In the meantime the NHL should look to emulate the success of the California teams. After all, they are living proof that hockey can thrive in places with palm trees.

Hollywood certainly believes hockey can be lucrative -- at least on the bigscreen. "Tooth Fairy," starring Duane Johnson as a tooth-busting hockey player sentenced to be a real tooth fairy, is expected to do big business at the box office this weekend.



The film was shot at the Great Western Forum using real L.A. Kings players.

There are sure to be many seats filled at the cinema with moviegoers in places such as Phoenix, Tampa Bay and South Florida. Maybe after seeing this movie they will want to attend an actual real hockey game and in the process support these struggling Sun Belt franchises.