As I was about to walk away from his stall in the Nashville Predators’ dressing room late Saturday night, Peter Forsberg had something to add.
“I sure hope Calgary wins,” he said.
I knew what he meant: If the Flames beat Edmonton, making what had just happened in Denver largely irrelevant, then he wouldn’t feel as guilty for playing a part in the Saturday night elimination of the Avalanche from contention for a playoff spot.
Give the Predators credit: With nothing to play for, with them locked into the No. 4 Western Conference playoff spot and ticketed for a first-round series against San Jose, they didn’t skate through the motions at the Pepsi Center.
No, they didn’t seem to be taking pleasure from sealing the Avalanche’s first-ever absence from the postseason. Rather, they were talking about the need to maintain sharpness and momentum, and they could have added a few things about the obligations of professionalism.
“We wanted to finish the season on a good note, and we didn’t want to lay down,” said Forsberg, who had two assists for the Predators. “What did you want us to do,” he said, smiling, “lay down? We had to play.”
Forsberg did take note of the Avalanche’s video tribute to him during a media timeout in the first period, and the subsequent standing ovation. Of course, with Forsberg able to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, it also could be interpreted as the first move in re-recruitment of the Swedish center, if he decides to play again in the NHL next season and considers options other than returning to Nashville. In fact, if the Avalanche hadn’t done something similar for Adam Foote in his first game back with Columbus last season, I would wonder if the recruitment was so blatant, the NCAA should be paying close attention to make sure it follows the rules.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but it was kind of emotional, and it was great,” he said. “I’m grateful they did that, and it was real classy by the organization. It was a tough situation to do it. They had so much to play for, it was great.”
If Colorado fans now want to “adopt” another team in the postseason, the Predators would be a worthy candidate – and not just because of Forsberg’s presence. The Predators are a gritty, well-coached team with a shot at advancing deep, and if all goes to form in the first round – granted, it never does – they would face the Red Wings in the second round. Plus, a run by the Predators would generate a buzz and excitement in Nashville that would be a shot in the arm for the league.
“I think we have a good group of guys here,” Forsberg said. “We have four lines who can score and play, when everybody’s back. Our defense is great and we have two good goalies.”
Bedeviled
Why would anyone take the New Jersey Devils’ coaching job?
That’s a rhetorical question, because I realize the next guy hired is always the one who thinks he can win over general manager Lou Lamoriello, perhaps with an 80-1-1 season, and keep the job longer than the shelf life of a carton of milk.
That always was the case at Boston, when GM Harry Sinden regularly made coaches the scapegoats for his own weakness as a talent-procuring executive, and/or for ownership’s unwillingness to spend. There always were candidates willing to take the job and ignore the sword of Damocles hanging over the Bruins’ bench.
And now it’s the previously – and with good cause – highly respected Lamoriello who is getting the reputation for capriciousness. With Sinden, it was penalizing the coaches for management’s failings. With Lamoriello, it’s more a strange inability to be satisfied with the work of his coach, and his firing of Robbie Ftorek down the stretch in 2000 before the Devils won the Stanley Cup under Larry Robinson probably made Lamoriello believe that kind of wake-the-boys-up stratagem could work again.
It’s just silly.
Last week, he fired Claude Julien with three games left in the regular season, with the Devils leading the Atlantic Division and having won four of their last five. Now, nobody has mistaken Julien for Toe Blake, but that’s not the point. For all intents and purposes, he was doing a good job, and unless he was caught knifing Lamoriello’s tires in the arena parking lot or something else bizarre, this is inexplicable. It also played right into the NHL’s image as the league that more than any other – and this is saying a lot – changes coaches at the first sign of trouble, and to the point of absurdity.
No. Correct that. There wasn’t a sign of trouble this time.
Lamoriello is one of the opinion leaders in the sport, and he deserves tons of respect for having done praiseworthy work as coach and athletic director at Providence College before moving on. His protégés are many, and they’re sprinkled around the NHL. But on this one, the Dominican friars at Providence who know him must be wondering what the heck has gotten into him.
Point system losing points
I’m on record that all this bragging about all these 100-point teams in the Western Conference is off-target, given the proliferation of three-point games and the resulting point inflation. And I have come around to the view that a better way would be to award three points in every game – three for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, and one for an overtime or shootout loss.
Here’s the showcase example of why the current system is flawed.
As of Friday, the San Jose Sharks’ 51 victories were the most in the Western Conference, and second in the NHL to the Buffalo Sabres’ 52.
The Sharks were in the No. 5 playoff spot.
SPOTLIGHT ON … Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk
Uh, about that longshot possibility Colorado or any other NHL team could take a run at Pavel Datsyuk when he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1. …
As noted hockey fan Emily Litella, the “Saturday Night Live” character portrayed by Detroit native Gilda Radner, was fond of saying: “Never mind.”
On Friday, the Red Wings announced Datsyuk had agreed to a seven-year contract extension, which The Detroit News said was worth in the neighborhood of $6 million to $7 million per season. Datysuk, 28, is making $3.9 million this season.
The major surprise is the length of the deal, since there are few loopholes in NHL contracts and it means Datsyuk is all but certain to take up a major slice of the Red Wings’ cap room for the entire period – even if he loses interest or something causes his productivity to diminish.
In other words, if he doesn’t maintain his bang for the buck, Detroit will be in trouble.
That said, the upside is tremendous. Datsyuk is one of the league’s best players, hands down, and his team-high 87 points aren’t sufficient measure of his value to the Red Wings – or his potential to take his game to another level and become dominant.
“Pavel really wanted to commit here for his career,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told reporters at a Friday news conference in Detroit. “In the end, we felt very comfortable with a long-term commitment to Pavel.”
Steve Yzerman, who played his entire career with the Wings before retiring and becoming a team executive this season, lobbied for the commitment as well. He said it “was extremely important to lock up (Datsyuk) for as long as we can.”
PENALTY BOX
EAGLESON PARDON: SHAME ON CANADA
Miscreant: The Canadian government
Infraction: Pardoning former NHL Players’ Association head Alan Eagleson in 2005. In 1998, Eagleson was convicted of three counts of mail fraud, racketeering and embezzlement tied to his dealings with the NHLPA and Canada Cup revenue.
The skinny: The Calgary Herald finally disclosed the move last week, which gives you an idea of the level of secrecy involved. The National Parole Board told the paper that pardons are not made public because of privacy legislation.
The bottom line: Beyond the reality that Eagleson didn’t deserve a pardon, that’s a ridiculous system devoid of accountability. At least Gerald Ford had to publicly admit that he pardoned Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton had to tell the country he had pardoned Marc Rich and Roger Clinton.
Top 10
Polls close Friday morning:
(Rk. Prev. Team Comment)
1. 1 Ducks Cup favorite here
2. 2 Red Wings Datsyuk sewed up
3. 3 Predators Finished in Denver
4. 4 Sabres Snap out of it
5. 5 Devils Coach Lou again
6. 6 Penguins Tennessee Tuxedo proud
7. 7 Canucks Despite loss to Avs
8. 10 Sharks Most wins in West
9. 8 Senators Hit a dip, though
10. 9 Wild One and out, though
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
