Wes Goldstein and Greg Cimilluca of CBSSports.com provide analysis on three topics.
| 1. What would have been your ideal hockey gift for Christmas? | |
| Wes Goldstein | Greg Cimilluca |
 It would have been great for the NHL to get rid of its mask of mediocrity, better known as the three-point games that skew the standings so much. Because all games are not created equal, the Christmas break arrived with 26 of the 30 teams with records of .500 or better. But if you combine the OT losses with the regulation ones, eight of those teams would not look like legitimate contenders at this point. And Edmonton with a 16-18-3 record would look a lot worse without 10 shootouts that went into its win column. Obviously the league wants all teams to at least keep up the appearance of competitiveness, but success should be based on merit more than anything. If the league wants to award every team points after 60 minutes, then those winning in regulation should be rewarded by getting all three. That would separate the wheat from the chaff. |  To me, the perfect gift would be for all the talk about changing the size of the goals to just go away. It is one of the most ridiculous things going on in all of sport, and the fact that it exists still to this day frightens me more then ol' Ebenezer Scrooge and all them ghosts he saw. I mean, talk about changing the landscape of the game -- it would be far more ludicrous and carnival-like than any glow puck could ever seem. At least the glow puck was just for the TV-viewing audiences, and your enjoyment of the game at the rink was untarnished. So I beg you GM Santas out there: Do not, do not let this ever come to pass and please remove it from all agendas henceforth! Thank you and happy holidays. |
| 2. Which coach is on the thinnest ice right now? | |
| Wes Goldstein | Greg Cimilluca |
| There have been some rumblings about discontent in Pittsburgh lately over the way Michel Therrien is dealing with some of the older guys, and in Los Angeles, the rapid regression of the Kings and the recent controversy from a previous job make one wonder what Marc Crawford is still doing there. Tom Renney might be running out of time because the New York Rangers have failed to get all their high-priced talent on the same page nearly halfway through the season. But I think the coach who is on the hottest seat right now is Montreal's Guy Carbonneau. The Canadiens are fading quickly after a fast start and now look like a playoff bubble team at best. That doesn't sit well with the locals, who aren't all sold on the sophomore coach. The job might be the toughest in hockey and offers little slack even when the team is winning. | Well one I don't think is on thin ice but maybe doesn't have the best handle on his team right now is New York Rangers coach Tom Renney. With others more worthy of being let go, I am going to focus more on who needs to step up. Renney was given players most coaches should be able to succeed with. Not that the Rangers have been a complete failure, but they certainly have struggled far more than they should. Constant line changes, living forever off the new players need time to jell" rhetoric and misuse of role players have left the Rangers floundering. If they don't want to waste all their energy on another second-half rush to make the playoffs, the otherwise on-task tactician Renney had better find the right mix soon and stick with it, or his name will be at the top of this list. |
| 3. Should the NHLPA be consulted on suspensions like Chris Simon's? | |
| Wes Goldstein | Greg Cimilluca |
| New union boss Paul Kelly raised this issue with the Philadelphia Inquirer after Simon got a record 30 games. Discipline has always been the responsibility of league executives, with the players association role being appeals. But the NHL and its players are presumably in a partnership these days, and in matters as serious as the Simon suspension, it follows that the union's position be considered ahead of time. In years past, league officials were reasonably concerned about opening the discipline process to a union that was interested in enriching its members to the exclusion of all other concerns. But the tone is decidedly different with Kelly at the helm, and perhaps more important, there is a growing sentiment among the troops that reckless and dangerous behavior by players can't be tolerated. The union is going to act in the best interests of a perpetrator, but also those of the victims. | This is one area where I believe the NHLPA has a legitimate gripe. Generally, players association issues are Player vs. League, but here it's more of Player vs. Player vs. League. The PA not only wants to make sure the offending player does not receive too harsh a penalty, but also has to defend the victim so that the potential resulting injury does not go unpunished. It is a unique situation, and I think new NHLPA chief Paul Kelly would want to be in on potentially significant events that involve his members. Not only would this grant some protection for the players (in every case either the victim or the offender will need protection and, in some cases, both) but it would probably cut down on, if not eliminate, what is essentially an irrelevant appeals process. Of course, this type of PA involvement does not exist anywhere now, so good luck in squeezing that in, because it seems like the right way to go. |
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