Mr. Bettman went to Washington on Friday.
There the NHL commissioner, who can’t pull off the aw-shucks act as well as Jimmy Stewart, gave an upbeat speech at the National Press Club, talked with members of Congress about steroids, and then attended the Capitals-Thrashers game at the MCI Center.
Fact is, Gary Bettman had a lot to brag about during his visit.
The commissioner has taken considerable flak over the years, including from me, but even more so from closed-minded traditionalists. His tendency to go into denial or spin-control mode the second he steps in front of a microphone can be aggravating.
And I’m convinced to this day decisive and visionary leadership could have prevented the ignominy of a dark 2004-05 season – though that’s what many owners wanted in the first place – and still steered the on-ice product through an overhaul.
But so far, the New NHL is working.
The league’s giddiness over attendance figures – officially up 4 percent – is a bit over the top, given some glaring trouble spots, including Washington. In fact, announced attendance at the game Bettman was at Friday was only 13,758, or 73 percent capacity. And U.S. television viewers either are having a hard time finding games on OLN or are angered when games have been unavailable because of cable-system disputes. The national cable ratings have been abysmal.
Other than that, yes, the re-launch deserves positive reviews. Scoring is up, the ice has opened up and the game is racing through the downsized neutral zone, the wrestling is gone, and fighting is a relatively archaic phenomenon.
“Who ever believed it could come back this strong?” Bettman told the Press Club. “Actually, we did.”
But the league can’t afford to spend too much time patting itself on the back and gloating about the new and relatively idiot-proof salary-cap system. For one thing, the glory of parity can wear thin, and there’s also the fact that there are a lot of sophisticated fans who appreciated that some teams and franchises – such as the Avalanche – were willing to spend money to make money and enhance a franchise’s value.
“Now the team’s ability to compete is based upon its hockey, front-office and team-building skills, not on the team’s ability to pay,” Bettman said. “We have emerged as partners with our players and our fans.”
It is going to require relentlessness in making sure the anti-obstruction standards aren’t gradually watered down, and ensuring the whining from the league’s old guard about “parades to the penalty box” and other alleged travesties don’t have any influence.
Bettman also repeated his stance that steroid abuse isn’t a problem in hockey, and characterized as sufficient the new collective bargaining agreement’s drug-testing provisions and a 20-game suspension for a first offense.
That’s probably all true, except the NHL is struggling to make further inroads in a sporting marketplace scarred by drug scandals. So if that’s all true, if the NHL indeed doesn’t have a steroid problem, the league and the players’ association would be well advised to tell Congress they would accept a universal pro sports drug-testing policy – and the more stringent, the better.
Walker’s pal in Hall
As kids, Larry Walker and Cam Neely played street hockey for hours at a time outside their homes in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Walker always was the goalie, Neely the shooter.
“We’d have a one-on-one competition,” Walker said when he was with the Rockies. “The winner would get trophies and stuff, and we had a lot of fun with that.”
Failing in an attempt to make a major junior roster as a goaltender, Walker turned his athletic attention to baseball. Neely stuck with hockey.
This week, Neely will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, nearly a decade after hip and knee problems – in part thanks to a knee-on-knee cheap shot from Ulf Samuelsson – led to his retirement at age 31. In his prime, the Bruins’ star was the prototypical power forward, who could both intimidate and score.
Neely said he doesn’t sweat what might have been. Even before he quit, he played in only 22 games in the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons before coming back to get 50 goals in only 49 games the next season. But he couldn’t stay healthy.
“You can always find the what-ifs,” he said, “so I never really looked at that too much. Listen, the way I played the game, it would have been shocking if I didn’t have some injuries, and that’s the only way I could play the game to help my team and also be a better hockey player.”
Walker is expected to retire and not return to the St. Louis Cardinals, and he already is drawing support as a Hall of Fame candidate. On this side of the border.
Penguins lined up
There was a lot of head-scratching in Pittsburgh when coach Eddie Olczyk didn’t put Mario Lemieux on a line with phenom Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi until the 11th game of the season. Perhaps it was a way of avoiding dumping more pressure on Crosby, but now that Lemieux has joined the other two on the same line, they’re starting to look as if they belong together. Crosby had his first two-goal game Thursday against the New York Islanders.
“It certainly doesn’t hurt having (Lemieux) out there, that’s for sure,” Crosby said. “He’s someone who’s going to create space. Even if he doesn’t have the puck, guys are going to be keying on him a little bit more. If they do key on him, then Mark’s obviously going to have some room to have the puck, and it’s the same for any of us.”
Recchi said the linemates “really got comfortable out there. This is our third game now, and we’re really starting to figure some things out. Obviously Sid and I played all year so I understand where he’s going to be, and it’s a nice combination.”
Great endorsement
From his new perspective from behind the Phoenix bench, Wayne Gretzky has checked in on the new standards and rules. He gives them a thumbs up.
“I really, truly believe that the finesse and the smarts and the intelligence of hockey players now, both offensively and defensively, is a factor,” Gretzky told The Arizona Republic. “If you’re not a good skater and you can’t handle the puck, or you’re not a smart defenseman, you no longer can play in the National Hockey League and you’ll be an American Hockey League player. And that’s the way it should be.”
Sieve in Chicago
Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, signed to a $27 million, four-year deal in the offseason, is continuing to struggle in the Chicago net.
“I’m getting concerned, I’m not going to lie to you,” Blackhawks coach Trent Yawney told reporters, even before Khabibulin allowed four goals on 18 shots and was yanked in a 9-1 loss to Dallas Friday. “There’s no question he has to be better, and he knows he has to be better. He’s a No. 1 guy for a reason, and those guys find their way. We need him to find his way.”
Khabibulin said his confidence is “probably not at the highest level, but when you play games and have a good game all of a sudden your confidence is up and you build on it.”
Oh, so that’s it.
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
