Bluelines (12/27): Devils arena gaining corporate support
Dec 27, 2006
Stop worrying about the Penguins leaving Pittsburgh. It's not going to happen. Neither the state of Pennsylvania, nor city fathers, nor county leaders will let it happen. Guaranteed, Gary Bettman will step in and insure that a reasonable deal is cut for a new arena. Negotiations will be painful, but not nearly as those suffered during the work stoppage! And let's face it; there are plenty of prospective owners out there besides Jim (Let's Move To Canada) Balsillie.
Or, if you're looking for another reason why the Pens will stay in Pitt, check out The Globe and Mail's Eric Duhatschek, who says, "Does letting Sidney Crosby play in Canada do anything for the NHL from a marketing perspective?"
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Garth Snow's new acquisitions – Freddie Meyer and Randy Robitaille – will be helpful. But it says here that the GM is creating Cap room by shedding Al Zhitnik's $3.5 mil salary for a homestretch-playoff deal. Our guess is that Snow is eyeing fellow New Englander Bill Guerin.
Ilya Kovalchuk insists that he has no feud with Sidney (Der Bingle) Crosby. Atlanta's ace claims the media keeps bugging him about his taunting The Kid after a goal. Trouble is, the incident happened almost a year ago. IK is right; but wouldn't it have been sweet to get a good feud going with The Kid? Just for media attention. Still, you have to like Kovalchuk's honesty.
A temporarily forgotten story that's guaranteed to surface is the NHL-Russian League dispute over the transfer agreement. The Russkies nixed an offer of $200,000 to RL teams for players. This one could get ugly before it gets sweet.
Succinct, But Savvy, Observation: Andy Murray will make a very positive impact on the Blues.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Phil Kessel as he battles testicular cancer.
Worth Watching Dep't.: New Hampshire's junior goalie, Kevin Regan, has pro written all over him. The South Boston native amassed a .936 save percentage over ten games with a 1.88 goals against average while winning nine and tying one!
One business pundit believes that if the league ever finds itself looking for a new American market, it would have to be Las Vegas, the fastest-growing city in the States, and a better venue than Houston or Kansas City.
Send good wishes to Valerie Potvin, wife of Hall of Famer, Denis Potvin. Val is recovering from broken vertebrae suffered in a horseback-riding accident. "She came very close to being paralyzed," Denis tells us, "but, hopefully, Valerie will be home for Christmas." Mrs. Potvin will wear a body brace for three months but her prognosis is good. Matter of fact, doctors predict she should be able to ride horses again.
Has there been a bigger stiff all season than Martin Gerber? His three-year, $11.1 million deal has John Muckler hamstrung beyond a reason.
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Some media geniuses believe that Jay Feaster has painted himself into a corner by steadfastly backing John Tortorella. We disagree. JT remains one of the NHL's top coaches; passionate, smart and motivated. Can we say the same about some of his skaters? …
How's this for a brilliant answer: Tom Preissing was asked to explain how come he owns one of the league's best plus-minus ratings (plus-23) on a club that's under .500? The Senators defenseman replies, "It seems that every time I step on the ice, I get a plus!" (How come we didn't think of that!)
The downfall of Markus Naslund is no different than that of his countryman, Peter Forsberg – too many injuries. No more, no less!
Brendan Shanahan sees things clearly and sees them whole, so it's no surprise that his analysis of Steve Yzerman's influence is cogent. "Steve displayed to teammates every night how playing both ends can benefit you and not take away from the attention you get for your stats." … A standing O to the Kings' communications director, whiz Jeff Moeller, for a phenomenal publication, "Kings Of The Camera – Slapshots Meet Snapshots." The club's yearbook displays personalities and faces as well as any NHL tome we've seen. Our favorite was the Beach Volleyball tournament.
Here's a toughie: Who's most likely to be a Ranger – Brian Leetch or Petr Nedved? Answer: Neither.
Wonderful Line Dep't.: (Courtesy of the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson.) Speaking of speedy players who accomplish little, Dave Tippett opines: "Don't confuse activity with accomplishment!" The best example, all-time, is Gene (Much Ado About Nothing) Carr, Rangers, 1971-74.
Still Can't Figure It Out Dep't.: When a coach, such as Bryan Murray, says, "We didn't show up to play," precisely who is to blame and – by the way – what are the skaters getting paid for anyway, not showing up to play?
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Since you can't tell the suitors without a scorecard, here is a list of potential buyers for the Penguins:
1. Realtor Sam Fingold of Hartford; 2. Toronto brewer, Frank D'Angelo; 3. Massachusetts developer Lawrence Gottesdiener; 4. New York businessman Andrew Murstein.
But best of all is one with Pittsburgh roots and that happens to be Mark (Mount Lebanon) Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks. We'll put our money on the latter.
Nice work on the part of the AHL, naming Kip Miller and Mike Keane captains of the league's RBK Hockey All-Star Classic, January 28-29 in Toronto. You won't find two more dedicated players than Mike and Kip.
Devils' rapidly-rising Newark Arena is getting substantial corporate support. For one thing, Prudential Financial is expected to pay around $5 million a year for naming rights. Plus, the deal could be for as long as 20 years, making it one of the best such pacts in the NHL.
Business writer Kevin DeMarrais reports that there has been a "strong" response to the Devs putting luxury suites on the market. "Competition for premium seating in that town (Newark) is going to be insane," says Bill Dorsey, exec director of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors. "Nothing like this has ever happened."
Meanwhile, the state of the art structure is rapidly taking shape. "They've been working on the decking on the roof for several weeks," says Devils chairman Jeff Vanderbeek. "The building is almost enclosed and the brick work on one side of the building is complete."
