KEN WARREN 10 TAKES
Politicians and pop princesses should think before tweeting
Only in Canada can the following happen: A Juno Award winner and the mayor of one of the country’s largest cities (no, we’re not talking about that guy in Toronto who has a problem or two million) can become embroiled in major controversy for tweeting about hockey players.
In case you were visiting another planet this week, singer Keshia Chanté went after Senators goaltender Robin Lehner and received a barrage of hatred in return. Meanwhile, mayor Denis Coderre set off his own tirade of twitter abuse for writing, “Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to Hamilton (of the AHL) for David Desharnais, please?”
A little friendly advice for politicians and pop princesses: Think before you tweet.
Now, read on for this week’s Ten Takes, featuring a real hometown boy, roster riddles, salary dumps, a team with all its Ducks in a row, Oiler spills and a few trips down memory lane. 1 MAKING HIS MARK Senators defenceman Mark Borowiecki is enjoying the comforts of his childhood home in Kanata, a slapshot away from the Canadian Tire Centre, as he tries to extend his stay in the big leagues. “It’s either Holiday Inn or parents, so I’ll take parents any day of the week,” he said Friday. He’s in a tough fight to remain. Of the Senators eight defencemen, only Borowiecki is not on a guaranteed NHL salary. He’s also the only one that can be assigned to Binghamton without clearing waivers, but he says, “you can’t let that stuff be your focus.” 2 FORWARD THINKING The extra defencemen in Ottawa also make it difficult for the Senators to recall Mike Hoffman or another scoring winger from Binghamton to possibly play alongside Jason Spezza. When Erik Condra comes off the injury list, expected for Sunday’s game against Columbus, the Senators will be at the roster maximum of 23 players. Derek Grant and Mika Zibanejad are the only forwards who can be sent down without clearing waivers. 3 REVISITING THE PAST Speaking of Zibanejad and the roller-coaster start to his career, he’s not alone among those at the top of his 2011 draft class. After the first three selections of Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog and Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau, inconsistency is the story. Adam Larssen, Ryan Strome, Zibanejad, Mark Scheifele, Couturier and Dougie Hamilton have all had tough stretches. Time will tell, but the steal of that draft could be 11th overall pick Jonas Brodin of Minnesota, who is playing almost 25 minutes per night. 4 MONEY MATTERS Kris Versteeg’s trade back to Chicago from Florida only happened because the NHL now allows teams to retain part of a player’s salary in deals. Florida will pay half of Versteeg’s $4.4 million annual salary, keeping Chicago under the salary cap. Versteeg also goes back to being a second- or third-line player with the Blackhawks, instead of a first-line player with the Panthers. That’s where Versteeg was when he won the Cup with Chicago in 2010, before being traded to Florida for ... salary cap reasons. It’s a circle of hockey life story. 5 THE MAPLE (LEAF) DONUT Remember a year ago when the Senators went without Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson for extended periods? Cry Toronto a river. There’s now a colossal hole in the middle of the Toronto lineup due to injuries to Tyler Bozak and David Bolland and Nazem Kadri’s suspension. Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle told reporters Friday he’s never been in this situation before and he’s now operating on “Plan E or Plan F.” It’s another reason why picking up early-season points are so important. 6 NOT SO GOLDEN NOLAN MEMORIES How long had new/old Buffalo coach Ted Nolan been gone from the team’s bench? So long that not a single current member of the Senators roster was on the team when he last coached there. That includes Chris Phillips, who played his 1,091st regular season game Friday. Nolan was behind the Sabres bench in 1997, when the Senators lost their first-ever playoff series on Derek Plante’s heartbreaking Game 7 overtime winner. 7 DUCK HUNTING SEASON? Anaheim GM Bob Murray is sitting pretty. And not just because his team is atop the NHL standings with 31 points in 21 games. The Ducks are overloaded with goaltending talent, including Frederik Anderson, who was assigned to the AHL after going 6-1 in the NHL, and John Gibson. Teams needing a goalie — and there are plenty — should be knocking on the Ducks’ door with offers. Jonas Hiller, anyone? Also keep in mind that the Ducks own the Senators’ firstround choice in next June’s draft, courtesy of the Bobby Ryan trade.
8 WHAT IF? The Edmonton Oilers had been willing to accept a trade with Ottawa last spring and Ben Bishop had been Alberta-bound? Bishop might not have made the Oilers a playoff team (he can’t score goals on home ice, after all) but the early-season picture might look a lot prettier. Bishop has a league leading 13 wins. The Oilers had four wins before Friday’s game against San Jose. The Ilya Bryzgalov Band-Aid solution might help some, but it’s too late for any serious run at anything except another first overall draft pick. 9 BAD STATS EVERYWHERE Nail Yakupov deserves criticism for his plus/minus rating of -15, but there has been much less noise about fellow Oilers young stars Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (-13), Taylor Hall (-9) and Sam Gagner (-10). Those types of numbers might win the Masters, but they don’t help win many hockey games ... The Winnipeg Jets are somehow hanging around in the middle of the pack in the East, despite a feeble power play. They’ve scored only six goals with the man advantage in 20 games, producing at a woeful 8.4 per cent rate. 10 WHERE’S THE EASTWEST CROSSOVER? The way things stood before Friday’s games, the Los Angeles Kings were on pace for 105 points, but were outside looking in at a playoff spot. The Montreal Canadiens were on target for 86 points, but were in playoff position. If the West’s dominance continues, this could be embarrassing for the NHL. Maybe not quite as embarrassing as the 1981 CFL standings, when the 5-11 Ottawa Rough Riders finished second in the East and came within a whisker of winning the Grey Cup. But at this rate, some very good Western teams could end up watching the post-season. Have a great weekend, everyone.