Sugar’s Summer NHL Summary
Between the vacations on my yacht and slanging gourmet fajitas at Chili’s, it’s been tough to provide quality hockey content this summer to say the least. For now, my summer has settled down a bit and I have some time to sit down and think about what’s been going on in the NHL this summer. There’s a lot to cover since I’ve been out the game for a few months, but I’ll do my best. Here are my top 3 offseason stories.
1. Anaheim Ducks – assembling an army
The outright winners of the NHL free agency season are the Ducks. Anaheim possessed the most productive offense during the 2013-2014 season, averaging 3.21 goals per game and scoring a total of 263 goals. What makes this accomplishment even more noteworthy is the Anaheim Ducks compete in the powerhouse Western Conference. If the Ducks played last season in the East they might have buried 400 goals. What has Anaheim done this offseason you ask? What does a team do when they’re set on defense, have world class goaltending coming out their ears, and has the most productive offense all at once? Believe it or not, these bastards went and added 2 more of the game’s elite offensive talents. Ryan Kesler and Dany Heatley both decided to take their talents south(west) and landed in Anaheim. The assistant captain of the Canucks, Kesler (29 years old) put up 25 goals and 18 assists for a total of 43 points in 77 games last year on a struggling Vancouver team. Since 2007 Kesler has scored at least 20 goals every year except the shortened season of ’12-’13. He’s a dynamic, American born, forward who has shown no signs of slowing up. Now for the other guy I mentioned: Dany Heatley. For those of you who are under the age of 21 or have a bad memory, Dany Heatley has unteachable, lethal scoring ability. This man had two consecutive 50 goal seasons (’05-’06 & ’06-’07). Now, I know you’re sitting there saying, “that was almost 10 years ago, bro”, the good news is you can do basic math and the bad news is I ain’t your bro. By no means do I expect Heatley to go off for another 50 goal season at the age of 33. What Heatley does bring to the Ducks’ line up though is a burning desire to win it all. The Stanley Cup has eluded Heatley for the entirety of his career. He was on a potential contender 10 years ago in Ottawa and moved to San Jose for 2 seasons and helped them cement their legacy as the perennial playoff choke kings. After San Jose, Heatley spent 3 seasons with the Minnesota Wild. A team that, while located in the breeding ground for elite American hockey talent, hasn’t had a chance at a Stanley Cup since the days of the North Stars. What Heatley brings to the league’s top offense is an unteachable scoring touch and a desire to win it all. Like I said, we won’t be seeing this guy go off for 50 goals this year but I predict the two time scoring champion will bury at least 20 goals this season and the optimist in me says he could go for 30. My standpoint is the only thing that could stop the Ducks from winning the 2015 Stanley Cup is their head coach, Bruce Boudreau. If you disagree with my feelings on Boudreau, keep checking the blog because I’ll be writing a piece dedicated solely to this individual who has called the shots for 2 of the best teams in the league over the past decade and has not one single god damn thing to show for it.
2. Vancouver Canucks – the right coach; the right goalie; the right time
What the hell happened in Vancouver last year? If there was one “inside the locker room” documentary I would love to see it would be the behind scenes look at the unravelling of the Vancouver Canucks. Last season was the first time since the ‘07-’08 season that the Canucks failed to make the playoffs. The same group of guys responsible for 4 straight seasons of 100+ points (’08/’09 – ‘11/’12), finished this past season 12th in the West with 83 points. Over the past 3 seasons there have been 2 persistent issues in Vancouver: goaltending and coaching. The Luongo fiasco coupled with the Vigneault/Tortorella dilemma has plagued the Canucks franchise over the last couple years. At the conclusion of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals the hockey world learned that the Canucks’ fans, for lack of better words, are violent and bat-shit crazy. (Apparently Canada’s socialized healthcare system doesn’t supply citizens with Xanax.) So when their team doesn’t even make the playoffs, it’s safe to say that change will come swiftly to the organization. So what have the ‘Nucks done in the offseason? In May the Canucks chose Jim Benning as the new general manager of the club. Right off the bat Benning made moves that could land him a statue of himself in downtown Vancouver if things go right. Let’s start with the solution to the goaltending fiasco: Ryan Miller. If that name by itself doesn’t speak volumes to you, well, you don’t know anything about hockey, but I’ll lay it out for you anyway. Ryan Miller is arguably the best American goalie in the NHL. Jonathon Quick has come on strong the past several seasons and made a solid case for the best American goalie title; but Ryan Miller is right there with him. The biggest difference between these two: Quick has been on a cup contending team nearly his whole career while Miller spent 8 seasons starting for the Buffalo Sabres. Now, this article is about the Canucks and Ryan Miller, I don’t want to take away from Quick’s accomplishments. He was a key component in 2 Stanley Cup winning expeditions and is undoubtedly one of the best goalies in the world right now. What’s impressive about Ryan Miller though, is despite starting 8 seasons with one of the worst clubs in the league, he still has a .915 SV% and a 2.59 GAA over his career. To say he comes into Vancouver excited about the chance to compete for a Cup is an understatement. This guy has been working his ass off for a decade, facing an obscure number of high quality scoring chances and still putting up great numbers. Ryan Miller just might be the answer to Vancouver’s prayers. It takes more than a great goalie to have a winning team in the NHL though. Winning in the pro’s usually starts with the management so let’s go back to Jim Benning. The second issue that has plagued the ‘Nucks’ organization as of late: coaching. Let’s just come out with it, Vancouver fucked up when they hired Tortorella. Someone in their management thought a hard line, outspoken, quick to criticize coach was a good fit for a team led by two, delicate, Swedish brothers. Jim Benning righted the wrongdoing when he brought Willie Desjardins out of the AHL to call the shots for the Canucks in the big leagues. The fact that this is Desjardins’ first NHL head coaching position is literally the only scuff on his resume. He has developed and coached nothing but championship quality teams at every level. The only thing that stands out more to me than his ability to win as a coach are the words Jim Benning used to describe Desjardins: “Willie is a great teacher, motivator and communicator”. Desjardins is stepping into a situation that doesn’t need rebuilding so much as it needs direction. The pieces are there in Vancouver, it’s a matter of getting everyone on the same page. Willie Desjardins seems to be the answer Vancouver has been looking for.
3. Detroit Red Wings – summer: when nothing at all happens
Wings’ fans take notice: challenging times are ahead. In the past the Detroit Red Wings rolled into the free agency market like Channing Tatum in a sorority house; anyone they wanted, they got. Here’s an example: In 2008 Detroit defeated Pittsburg in the Stanley Cup finals. The following offseason Penguins’ super star, Marion Hossa, became a free agent. He turned down a contract with Pittsburg to sign with the Wings. But like Bob Dylan says, “the times they are a-changin’”. In the days leading up to July 1st this summer, Wings’ fans were told riveting tales of what the organization might look like in the near future. The priority was to sign a top-four right handed defenseman and then pursue a top-six forward. The team had $16 million in cap space to work with (a lot of money in NHL terms). Dan Boyle the right handed all-star defensemen just happened to be on the market unrestricted along with forwards Thomas Vanek, Jarome Iginla, and Paul Stastny. The day finally came and Wings’ fans around the globe were pumped to get this Big Red Machine tuned up and ready to contend for a Cup. Then July 1st happened another way: Dan Boyle – to the Rangers, Vanek – to the Wild, Iginla – to the Avs – all on the first day of free agency. I opened this article by stating that challenging times are ahead for the Detroit Red Wings. Babcock’s contract has 1 year left on it and it doesn’t look like an extension will happen before this season. The Red Wings organization is in an unfamiliar spot right now. They can’t draw in big name free agents anymore. They have a roster that is definitely capable of making the playoffs but they have a ways to go before they take on someone like Chicago or Anaheim in the Stanley Cup finals. There’s a part of me that thinks it’s insane but it might be time for Babcock and Detroit to part ways next summer. There’s no debating Mike Babcock is one of the great hockey minds of his era. The organization is plateauing though and change is necessary. There are rumors that some guys don’t want to come to Detroit because of Babcock’s in your face, no excuses style of coaching. On top of that, Detroit is sitting on a potentially great NHL coach that is currently calling the shots for their AHL team, Jeff Blashill. Basically, Detroit is going to find itself in a situation where they either part ways with Babcock and hand the reigns over to Blashill or they will lose Blashill to another NHL team and regret it. My standpoint is 6 years+ is long enough without a Cup or a Finals appearance even. Bring in Blashill and a new era of Red Wings’ hockey along with him.
I’m fully aware I didn’t talk about a lot of moves/signings during this offseason. I decided to highlight 3 teams that I think will experience the biggest impact from their offseason deals or lack of deals.
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