The War Room Live Poll

“Cornerstone of Your Own NHL Franchise”

You have been granted a National Hockey League franchise, in the market of your choice.  Even better, you are permitted to pluck any two players off the roster of any National Hockey League team.  One must be a goaltender, and the other must be either a defenceman or a forward.

With these criteria in mind, we opened the phones on The War Room on Tuesday, February 2^nd, and listened to the opinions of those who really know the game, the fans across North America:

Gerald in Southern California               SO-CAL EXPRESS  

-         Ilya Bryzgalov & Bobby Ryan

Ben in Rochester, New York                ROCHESTER RENEGADES

-         Ryan Miller & Alexander Ovechkin

Ryan in Texas                                       TEXAS LONGHORNS

-         Jonathan Quick & Brandon McMillan

Gordie in D.C.                                      D.C. STRIPES

-         Semyon Varlamov & Alexander Ovechkin

Bill in Poughkeepsie, New York           NEW YORK EXPRESS
            - Ryan Miller & Sidney Crosby

Nick in Delaware                                  WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS

-         Pekka Rinne & Steven Stamkos

Troy in Moncton, New Brunswick        MONCTON ALPINES

-         Jaroslav Halak & Andrei Markov

Chris in New Brunswick                       the ARCHERS

-         Roberto Luongo & Daniel Alfredsson

Rob in Belleville, Ontario                      BELLEVILLE LIONS
-    Jonas Gustavsson & Matt Duchesne

Scott in Southern California                   LOS ANGELES DUCK HUNTERS

-         Jonathan Quick & Drew Doughty

Darren in Penticton, B.C.                      SACRAMENTO PROSPECTORS

-         Ryan Miller & Phil Kessel

Tyrell in Medicine Hat, Alberta              MEDICINE HAT TRICKS

-         Corey Schneider & Tyler Myers

Charles in Texas                                   SUNDOWN ROUGHNECKS

-         Semyon Varlamov & Chris Stewart

Stewart in Baltimore                             the BARRELHEADS

-         Carey Price & Sean Avery

John in Texas                                        the TEXAS COLONELS

-         Jimmy Howard & John Tavares

Brian in Arlington, Virginia                    ARLINGTON ADMIRALS

-         Mark-Andre Fleury & Jordan Staal

Peter Berce in Toronto                         ETOBICOKE EAGLES

-         Marc-Andre Fleury & Nicklas Backstrom

Mick Kern in Toronto                           TORONTO LUMBERKINGS

-         Ryan Miller & Drew Doughty

The War Room can be heard on NHL Home Ice every weekday morning at 11 am eastern (10 am Central, 9 am Mountain, 8 am Pacific, and 12 noon Atlantic)

EXAMINING THE TRADE CLICHE

Can somebody please drive a broken composite stick through the heart of that saying that is trotted out every time a big trade is made in the National Hockey League?

You know the saying; whichever team ends up with the best player wins the trade.

Yeah, says who?

Sam Pollock, that’s who.  The legendary general manager of the Montreal Canadiens worked the phones at a time when it often seemed that half of his fellow GM’s in the league approached their job like it was a hobby, something they did for kicks after the dishes were done.

In this day-and-age, despite what the frothing fan base of a particular franchise may feel, every one of the thirty NHL general managers are top notch.  In this instantaneous over-informed society we live in, there is no way a GM not up to the job would last for any length of time.  They would very quickly be exposed.  Bob Pulford should thank his lucky stars he handled the job at a time when dinosaurs such as Bill Wirtz walked the Earth.

When two teams make a major trade, such as the one the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs engineered on the last day of January, some hockey pundit somewhere will bring up that old Sam Pollock saying.

It’s often true; just think of the Montreal Canadiens moving disgruntled goaltender Patrick Roy (along with Mike Keane) to the newly minted Colorado Avalanche in exchange for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, and forwards Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky (December 6^th, 1995).

But it’s not always the case.

Steve Simmons uttered the Sam Pollock phrase on “The Reporters” on TSN, citing defenceman Dion Phaneuf as the best player in the Flames/Maple Leafs deal.

If that is indeed correct, then why did Flames’ GM Darryl Sutter trade the best player?  Did Sutter bump his head during a weekend trip to Okotoks?

Of course not; Sutter appraised his team, what it needed and what could be sacrificed, all the time keeping in mind the underlying factor of the salary cap, and its often far-reaching implications.

Maple Leafs’ GM Brian Burke did the same thing to his team, and presto, we had a big trade to discuss.

On paper, or at least on a piece of paper dated January 31^st, 2008, Phaneuf is without question the best player in the swap.  But that is a long two years ago.  Since then, Phaneuf has become everybody’s favourite whipping boy, and as the Flames were awash in expensive defenceman, it was pretty clear they would move the underachieving, at times selfish, rearguard.

Time will tell if Phaneuf is the best player in the deal.  Maybe big defenceman Keith Aulie will end up being the best player.  That’s the chance any team takes when it swaps warm bodies.

The Calgary Flames traded Brett Hull to the St. Louis Blues.  The young emerging sniper went on to a Hall-of-Fame career.  The Flames profited from that trade by winning the 1989 Stanley Cup.  Hull would not win a Cup in St. Louis. 

The Golden Brett was the best player in the trade in hindsight.  Even at the time of the transaction, the Flames knew they were giving up a future superstar.  Still, who won that trade?

That March 7^th, 1988 trade breaks down as such…Brett Hull, and Steve Bozak to the Blues for defenceman Rob Ramage and goaltender Rick Wamsley.  The Flames were upset that spring by the Edmonton Oilers (Wayne Gretzky’s final hurrah as an Oiler), but Ramage was a key part of the Redwood defence that helped the Flames win it all a year later.

Speaking of blockbusters, how about Gretzky going to the Los Angeles Kings during the summer of 1988?  It put hockey on the map, as the cliché goes, in many non-traditional markets in the U.S. (feel free to debate the pros and cons of that result), but the Kings never won the Stanley Cup.  They lost to Montreal in 1993, while the Oilers won the 1990 Cup, two seasons after trading The Great One.  As for Gretzky, he never won another Stanley Cup after 1988.

Who won that Gretzky trade?  Well, the Kings, even though they never won the Cup.  If anything, that trade was a harbinger of what the NHL would face during the 1990’s; the marginalization of small market teams and the resulting player moves necessistated by monetary concerns.

That August 9^th, 1988 trade breaks down as such...Gretzky goes to the Kings along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski.  To the Oilers goes Martin Gelinas, Jimmy Carson, 1^st round draft picks in 1989, 1991, and 1993 and money.

Money, because Oilers’ owner Peter Pocklington was beginning to experience the first of his many business/legal headaches to follow.  “I’d Trade Him Again”, indeed.

Gelinas and Carson were key members of that 1990 Stanley Cup winning squad in Edmonton. 

Even if either Phaneuf or Aulie outperforms the players sent to Southern Alberta in this latest blockbuster, when a GM makes a trade, he’s looking to improve his team, not worrying about the legacy of the trade.  If his team improves, either short-term for a playoff drive, or long-term, then the legacy issue usually takes care of itself.

Exhibit B about the foolhardiness of investing 100% faith in the Pollock saying also involves the Calgary Flames.

Flames fans were up-in-arms when Magic Kent Nilsson was traded to the Minnesota North Stars on June 15^th, 1985.  Through that trade, the Flames received two draft picks, one which they used to grab Joe Nieuwendyk in the second round (27^th overall) in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

When Nilsson hoisted the 1987 Stanley Cup with the hated Edmonton Oilers, many Flames’ fans decried the earlier trade, asking “Joe Who?” about Nieuwendyk, until Joe Who popped in 51 goals as a rookie in 1987-88.

Joe Who was part of the Flames 1989 Stanley Cup team, so when it came time for Calgary to move him along to the Dallas Stars (December 19^th, 1995), they got Corey Millen, and some guy named Jarome Iginla.

Iginla had been the Stars 1^st round draft pick in 1995, and all these years later, the captain of the Flames is a reasonable bet to make the Hockey Hall-of-Fame upon his retirement.

Still, some Flames’ fans grumbled about losing Joe Who to the Stars.  You’d think they’d have learned their lesson; the team that gets the “best player” in the trade doesn’t necessarily win the trade.

The Minnesota North Stars got Nilsson, but he won a Cup with the Oilers.  The Dallas Stars got Nieuwendyk, and he helped them win their only Cup, but they paid a heavy price in giving up Iginla.

Arguably, both teams won that trade.

Then there’s the June 13^th, 1987 swap between the Quebec Nordiques and the Washington Capitals.  Dale Hunter, the heart and soul of the 1980’s Quebec Nordiques went to D.C., and coming back to Quebec was a draft choice that ended up being Joe Sakic.

(The actual trade was Gaeten Duchesne, Alan Haworth and a 1^st round draft pick to Washington for Dale Hunter and Clint Malarchuk).

Perennial playoff failures, the Capitals got a shot-in-the-arm with the inclusion of Hunter on their roster, and they finally won a Game Seven in overtime when La Petite Peste scored on a breakaway against the Flyers’ Ron Hextall the following spring.

The Nordiques entered some very bleak years, before stockpiling high draft picks, and emerging as a young, promising team, led by Sakic.

Both teams can claim to have won that trade, all depending on how you view it.  The Capitals needed to change up their chemistry, and the Nords needed to rebuild.  Both succeeded thanks in large part to that trade.

In reality, the team that really won that trade was the Colorado Avalanche, but no-one had any inkling of that reality back when the Hunter trade was consummated.

A final note.  Even if Dion Phaneuf wins the Norris Trophy, the Leafs/Flames trade is not even close to being a duplicate of the January 2^nd, 1992 trade that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto, despite what the Toronto-based hockey media has been repeating over and over and over again.

The Flames and Maple Leafs exchanged five players each that day, with Gilmour being the prime asset.  He was a very good player with Calgary (and St. Louis before that), and thanks to a contract impasse with GM Doug Risebrough and the Flames’ brass, Gilmour was shipped out-of-town.

This transaction actually fits the Sam Pollock saying about which team wins a trade.

Even on that day, unless you were a diehard Flames fan, one could see the Leafs “won” that trade.  The inspired play of Gilmour, and the sizeable contributions of the likes of Jamie Macoun, and Ric Nattress, far out shadowed the meager contributions in Cowtown of the likes of Gary Leeman and Michel Petit.

I know, for I had a sprited argument with the Calgary cabbie who was dropping me off at the Calgary airport that evening, as I was returning to Toronto after spending Christmas with the family.  He was convinced that the Gilmour trade would put the Flames over the top, as they were getting 50-goal scorer Leeman.

Leeman would win his only Stanley Cup two seasons later as a role player with the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.  His stay in Calgary was brief and uneventful.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and GM Cliff Fletcher won that trade easily.  It helped revive, on-ice, that franchise, and set up the Leafs to enjoy, for the most part, a rather successful decade.  In both 1993, and 1994, the Leafs were legitimate Cup contenders.

That was a trade that shook up the NHL.  The current Flames/Maple Leafs trade only shakes up those two teams.

- Mick Kern

NHL REDZONE TV

We are very pleased to announce the launch of “NHL Redzone TV”.

The National Football League has a television channel that is called NFL Redzone, and its sole purpose in life is to go directly to any NFL game that has a team in the red zone, poised to potentially score.

It’s the highlight show moments before the highlights are born.  It’s to football what Rosie Ruiz was to the Boston Marathon.  Skip all the grunt work, and show up for the glorious final quarter-mile.

The service has proven to be very popular with a hepped-up, over-stimulated American society that wants everything now now now, without any of the work.   Hey, who are we to stand in front of what you the restless consumer craves.

In the interest of riding on the coat-tails of the NFL, we introduced “NHL Redzone TV” late last month..

Okay, so we also stole the name.  Our marketing division is still working on it.  “In The Slot” TV is too unwieldy; “Down Low TV” sounds like some 1950’s jazz channel, which is cool, but not what we’re going for. “In The Crease” does not accurately reflect the entire scope of this channel.

Until we re-jig the name, this is what you’ll see on “NHL Redzone TV” when you fork over your money to us:

GOOSE-EGG ALERT

Every time Martin Brodeur is within five minutes of posting yet another shutout, we will take you directly to that broadcast, in order to not lose count of how many shutouts Marty has.  112?  120?

CRAVING AVERY

This one should prove to be very popular.  We’ve hired a film student from Columbia, who’d otherwise be unemployed upon graduation, to follow Sean Avery around with a HD video camera and provide isolation shots of every shift Avery takes during a game.  When he starts to yap, either on the ice or off, and our crack team of editors deem it interesting, NHL Redzone TV will jump directly there.  Bonus possibilities…Craving Avery and Goose-Egg Alert at the same time, which some of our staff have dubbed the Fatso Follies.

THE THRILLA IN MSG’A

Whenever pugilist Daniel Carcillo and noted heavyweight Marian Gaborik are on the ice at the same time, we will jump directly to that event, even if Marty is one minute away from posting shutout number 125.

NEW YORK RANGERS SCORE A GOAL

Okay, so we might not have to jump to the Rangers’ games all that much this year.  But think about it…do you really wanna miss it in the event they do score???

GO TO HELL WITH TORTORELLA

This feature has already proven to be one of the backbones of our programming here at NHL Redzone TV.  Each-and-every time someone sticks a microphone into the face of New York Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella, we will jump there without hesitation.  Is any other explanation necessary?  (Parental Warning: when Larry Brooks joins the scrum, a flashing red icon will warn parents of the possibility of blue language from Tortorella).

FREE PIZZA NIGHT IN ATLANTA

Even the kids have a reason to watch NHL Redzone TV.  Whenever the paid attendance at any Atlanta Thrashers’ home game tops 10,000 fans, every kid watching our channel gets a free slice of pizza at participating pizzerias.  A special six-digit code will be flashed on the TV screen.

BOOM TV

This feature has been discontinued until further notice.  NHL Redzone TV used to jump to any TSN/NBC broadcast that featured Pierre McGuire getting all excited about something.  We found that this feature was taking up a disproportionate amount of screen-time here at NHL Redzone TV.

BEEN THERE DONE THAT

On the other end of the spectrum, this feature is is yet to be used.  Whenever Alexander Ovechkin scores a goal, and doesn’t act like he’s just won the Stanley Cup, NHL Redzone TV will be all over it.  It will happen.  Eventually.

PILLOW TALK

With the exception of our adult premium service described below, this might prove to be our most controversial offering.  Whenever a player and an on-ice official exchange furtive words during the pre-game skate, our cameras and state-of-the-art parabolic microphones will pick up every utterance.  When those conversations are in languages other than English, we will endeavour to provide a reasonable translation.  Please note, this feature of NHL Redzone TV will always occur before the national anthem and at the start of each subsequent period.

LUCY LAWLESS NATIONAL ANTHEM

This is an adult premium service of NHL Redzone TV, which is available only to those who are 18 years of age and over.  It’ll set you back an additional ten bucks a month, and there’s no guarantee that this event will ever occur again, but when you subscribe to this feature, you’ll be provided with an endless loop of Ms. Lawless in Anaheim on May 6^th, 1997 that can run in the smaller second screen on your big-screen TV. Viewer discretion advised.

FAQ’s

1. What happens if two or more NHL Redzone events occur at the same time?  Which one receives preference?

-         good question.  Whichever event is deemed most newsworthy by our editors.  That can change nightly, but rest assure, via the magic of digital videotape, we will get to all the NHL Redzone highlights ASAP.

2. I was in the washroom when Gaborik knocked out Carcillo.  Will you replay any Redzone events?

-         but of course.  Nightly, our “Redzone Rewind” will go over every NHL Redzone highlight from that evening of action.

3. This sounds great!  Where can I get NHL Redzone?  Is it part of the NHL Network?

- One month into this service, we are still to sign a deal with the likes of Comcast, Dish Network, and RCN, though we are on Skyline Cablevision in parts of Canada.  We are not part of the NHL Network.  They won’t return our calls.

Mick Kern - President of NHL Redzone Television

Couch Musings On A Mid-January Afternoon

…when exactly did the Vancouver Canucks morph into the Pat Quinn-era Toronto Maple Leafs?  According to the team with the sorriest uniform history in hockey, everyone is against them.  The refs, the league, and now Ron MacLean of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  Mr. Red Deer is Hockey Broadcasting Establishment with a capital E, so what would you expect?  (Best hockey song most hockey fans aren’t aware of…Dear Coach’s Corner by Propagandhi)...

…still, MacLean provides a worthwhile perspective on the Burrows – Auger feud, as he is an on-ice official at various levels of the game.  The Canucks and their head coach Alain Vigneault are circling the Zambonis.  Wait until they go on that road trip from hell due to the Winter Olympics.  Finally, they’ll have something legitimate to whine about…

…and while we’re discussing the franchise that hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in it’s 40 years on this good Earth, at least the fans put down the laser pointer last week and picked up the wedding dress.  Sure, they copied the hairy guy in Edmonton, who did a perfect spoof on the cutie from Calgary, suggesting Vancouver fans are unoriginal, but at least it’s harmless…

…the Hockey Hall-of-Fame should not be the gold watch at the end of a long career.  It should be the Valhalla of the sport, a gathering place for the very best on the ice, where they sit around and drink mead and swap stories.  Which is why Clark Gillies should not be there, as important as he was to those stacked New York Islanders teams of the early 1980’s.  The role he, and others, play in hockey is as important as the goal scorer or the superstar goaltender, but Gillies was not head-and-shoulders above other like forwards of his time, right Brian Sutter…

…so, should recently retired goaltender Curtis Joseph be inducted into the Hall?  My initial stance was no.  Joseph was a good goaltender on usually less-than-average teams.  When he was playing behind a good team (late 90’s Leafs, Team Canada 2002, 2003 Red Wings), Joseph didn’t deliver…though Detroit fans can blame J.S. Giguere for that monumental playoff upset.  Maybe Joseph was exactly the type of goaltender Ken Dryden talked about in his book “The Game”, a good netminder for a bad team, one who needs a lot of shots to shine.  I buy all that, it fits Joseph’s career arc pretty much like a glove...

 …upon sober second consideration of his career, taking a look at his final statistics, considering how good he was during his five-year peak in the mid-to-late 1990’s, and the fact you can’t be a starting goaltender in the NHL for over a decade and-a-half if you’re mediocre, Joseph is a Hall of Famer.  Some wise person recently wrote on a baseball blog that the entire argument about inducting a player into a Hall of Fame, because he has the best stats for a player NOT in the Hall, is spurious.  Someone has to have the best stats for a player not in a Hall of Fame, or else practically everyone gets in.  And then what’s the point?  As for Cujo, if the Hockey Hall of Fame was run like Cooperstown, then he would not be a first ballot Hall of Famer, but might have to wait six or seven years.  But he’d eventually get in…

…still, does that mean Gilles Meloche should be in, or Dwayne Roloson when he finally retires?  And what about Chris Osgood, who actually has won some Stanley Cups?  And shouldn’t Rogie Vachon be taking to the airwaves every second day, like Bert Blyleven, and belly ache about being passed over for the Hall? The trouble with the Hockey Hall of Fame is they’ve lowered the bar low enough in the past, that the likes of Roloson can be mentioned without everyone giggling.  It’s The Hockey Hall of Fame, which translates, at least to me, as the Hockey Hall of Greatness, not the Hockey Hall of Kinda Good, or Occasionally Great.  Maybe I should rethink my position on the inclusion of Curtis Joseph…

…once upon a time, when only 21 NHL teams walked the good Earth, I used to make the two hour trip from Ottawa up the highway to Montreal, to sit way up high in the centre blues.  Great seats, at about nine dollars a ticket, if you could get them.  My goal in life during the seemingly now much simpler 1980’s was to see every NHL team, in person, at least once.  Eventually I had checked off team after team, until only one remained.  The Philadelphia Flyers.  For some reason, whenever they were at the Forum, I wasn’t able to attend.  Took about five seasons before I finally saw them late in the 1988-89 season, and then during the playoffs that year.  What does this all mean?  Obviously, I had little to worry about twenty odd years ago.  More to the point, whenever the Canadiens and Flyers butted heads, it was a good game.  Last week, made the 30-minute subway trip down to the Air Canada Centre here in Toronto, to watch the Flyers (and their fantastic orange uniforms) take on the Maple Leafs….

…off the top-of-my-head, with the exception of the first ever NHL game at the ACC, which I attended after paying $200.00 for a $60.00 ticket, every game I’ve ever attended there has been less-than-satisfactory.  No, not because my mission in life is to mock the Leafs.  Actually, I don’t know why it is.  Had the pleasure of seeing plenty of engaging games at the late great Montreal Forum.  Have seen some very entertaining games at the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, the Saddledome, Madison Square Garden, etc.  But only one stellar game at the ACC., and the Leafs won that one in overtime, scoring on Jeff Hackett…

…why oh why do hockey media pundits go on and on complaining about no-trade or no-movement clauses in NHL contracts?  If a team gave a player that clause, then they have absolutely no-one to blame but themselves.  Of course, like most things in life (particularly in politics), a given team will play to the gallery by painting said player as being selfish, an ingrate that only has his own interests in mind.  Really?  Isn’t it true once the player waives his negotiated no-trade clause, and is moved, he’s then a member of another team, thus he’s no longer all that concerned about the team that just moved him?  But that doesn’t matter.  Most people wallow in simplistic thoughts, caring just enough for that which directly involves them, the average sports fan being no different.  Brings to mind the lyrics of “Working Class Hero” by John Lennon:

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
And you think you're so clever and classless and free,
But you're still ****** peasants as far as I can see.

Speaking of fools, under the MAD Magazine “Scenes We’d Like To See” category,  Georges Laraque (not a fool) versus Pat Robertson (fool) in a cage match.  Go Habs Go!

- Mick Kern

In Mike Resnick’s short story, The Olympians, (found in the 1984 speculative fiction compilation “The Science Fictional Olympics”  - Signet), the protagonist of the tale is a human athlete who is competing in a foot race against an alien athlete. 

As the human race climbs out of its Earth-borne cradle, and advances into the cosmos, one manner in which it asserts its believed superiority is to accept all athletic challenges issued by other races.

The Olympians is a select group of human athletes that represent all of Mankind in these competitions.  The humans are yet to lose; in fact, the purity of their claim of racial superiority hinges on that fact.  For if the humans stumble just once, The Olympians will be disbanded.  Humans expect to win every time, for they truly believe themselves to be superior.  Maybe not physically superior, but Mankind possesses an intangible that other races have no answer for.

During this particular race, held on the alien planet, the stands are packed to the gills with tens of thousands of fans, all heaping verbal abuse at the lone human runner.

He finds it difficult to breathe the thin alien air, and when the starting pistol goes off, The Olympian quickly finds himself trailing the alien sprinter.

Resnick’s narrative follows the inner thoughts of the human runner, as he struggles to keep the alien athlete in view, adjust his breathing patterns to efficiently process the thin oxygen, and most importantly, block out the acidic doubts that eat away at his psyche, as he has to face the imminent prospect that he may become the first human to lose.

That potential shameful legacy serves to fuel his flailing body, and he is able to nose out the alien runner at the wire.

To the frenzied abusive screams of the enraged masses, The Olympian silently exits the track, and stoically heads for the tunnel down to his dressing room, content that the human legacy of perfection has been maintained for another day.

This splendid story leapt-to-mind when I watched the young faces of Team Canada line up for the playing of the national anthem, after their 6-1 win over the surprising Swiss in Sunday’s semi-final game at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon.

The young Canadians were expected to win, even against a Swiss team that still had fresh Russian blood on their giant-killing hockey sticks.  Switzerland put up a fight, but the final score is an accurate indication of the talent gap between these two countries.

As the victorious players lined up for the raising of the red Maple Leaf, nary a smile was cracked.  Their mission was yet to be completed.

Canada, the motherland of ice hockey, has won the past five World Junior Championships.  They are the dominant nation at this level of the game, and Canada is currently the only hockey-playing country that deeply cares about this Christmas-time tournament.

Much of the country expects these kids to win, not only this January, but every January.  If they do this time, it’ll be a record sixth-in-a-row.

If they don’t, then it’ll be a major disappointment.

Which isn’t close to being fair; Canada has lost this tournament a number of times in the past, most recently to the States in 2004.

Yet for a number of reasons, the importance of this tournament to the Canadian hockey establishment (players, management, media and fans) has been magnified during the preceding half-decade, as if the entire country clings to its continual success as a confirmation that we are indeed the superior beings at the game of hockey, even if the National Hockey League continues to shun further Canadian teams, and the best player in the world is Russian.

The Canadian Junior Hockey program will not be disbanded if they lose on Tuesday night, like The Olympians eventually were in the Resnick story, but the pressure to continually win is the same.

Which might also explain why none of those young faces looked like they were savouring the moment; there is far too much pressure on their backs.

If and when they do prevail against the Americans in the final game, those 100-watt smiles you see will not only be fueled by the thrill of victory, but also by the weight of a country being lifted off of their shoulders.

No-one wants to be the team that breaks the winning streak.

- Mick Kern

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