Around hockey: Honour for James, Hay and Lowe; Bergevin on thin ice
Women’s hockey pioneer Angela James, international hockey champion Bill Hay and former Oilers defenceman Kevin Lowe were each given the Order of Hockey Canada on Friday.
“It’s never been work; it’s always been play,” James said of her life in hockey. Lowe had a better line, invoking his Catholic upbringing in Quebec: “Hockey was the only thing that allowed us to miss Sunday mass.”
James, who had 54 points in 50 international games from 1990 to 1999, had some interesting thoughts on the women’s game. It has splintered into the NWHL, which played an abbreviated season in a bubble in Lake Placid, N.Y., and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association. The barnstorming PWHPA’s tour begins Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden
“It’s a tough go right now,” James said. “If they get support from NHL teams, they can build a schedule based on games each weekend. I think (the PWHPA is) leaning in that direction. It can’t be one-offs. It has to be sustainable throughout the year. Hopefully get a professional league going. That will filter down to the grassroots where there’s something to reach for.”
› One-two punch: Have the Maple Leafs ever had a better duo than Matthews and Marner? Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald probably fall to No. 2. Matthews has 31 points and Marner 30 in 21 games. Only one Toronto team, in 1917-18, had two players at 30 points faster — Reg Noble had 40 points and Corb Denneny 30 by the 20th game of a 22-game season. Denneny used to be listed at 29 points, but a review a while back found him an assist.
Joe Thornton, who has won the Art Ross and Hart trophies, understands the level Matthews and Marner are playing at. “It’s a pretty good feeling,” he said. “If I could go back to being 24, 25, I’d do it in a heartbeat. You come to the rink with such confidence. The puck just seems to follow you around.”
› How things change: So PierreLuc Dubois is on Mark Scheifele’s wing in Winnipeg. Isn’t that the job Patrik Laine wanted? … Buffalo forward Jeff Skinner is in the second year of an eight-year, $72-million (U.S.) deal and his $9-million cap hit (until 2026-27) makes him the second-highest paid Sabre. He has been a healthy scratch for three games … Time to say it: Carey Price is no longer the world’s best goalie. But the Canadiens goaltender has a cap hit of $10.5 million through 2025-26 … There’s a Jonathan Bernier revival happening in Detroit. The former Leafs goalie is 5-3-0 and has a .918 save percentage. That’s better than luminaries like Connor Hellebuyck, Tuukka Rask, Jordan Binnington, Pekka Rinne, Jacob Markstrom, Frederik Andersen, and Price. And James Reimer, if you want to go there.
› Ducharmed: Early in the season, Montreal GM Marc Bergevin started the year as a lock for executive of the year, and now he may not have a job by the end of it. The fact that Dominique Ducharme carries the interim tag as Canadiens head coach even as Bergevin calls him “my guy” and says the job is Ducharme’s to lose suggests to me that Bergevin is on thin ice. If Ducharme turns the Canadiens around, he saves Bergevin’s job. If not, expect owner Geoff Molson to look in a new direction. I like Ducharme. He’s smart and engaging and preaches offence. From my time dealing with him with the national junior team, I’m rooting for him. That said, I’d love it if Patrick Roy became head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, if only for the chaos it would create.
› Bab-talk: Mike Babcock is back coaching, at the University of Saskatchewan. Volunteering. His way of giving back, I suppose, given the Leafs are still paying him. There seems to be a fair bit of hate lingering for him. His interview with Sportsnet’s Christine Simpson was, shall we say, awkward. Among his bigger sins, in my books, is how he treated older players. He really didn’t respect players like Chris Chelios, who had given the game so much. And he never quite owned up to his mistreatment of Johan Franzen. The former Wings forward accused Babcock of being a bully who treated people, like arena workers, poorly. Babcock is stubborn. All that said, he has coached probably hundreds of NHL players. So having a handful be bitter toward him is not much of a surprise. Inevitable, really. Babcock’s biggest sin in this market appears to be unforgivable: Not playing Matthews with Marner. › Bet on it: Not sure why any of us need to be reminded of this but I got an email this week projecting the cost of attending games when the coronavirus pandemic is over. Small surprise, but attending a Leafs game will cost a fan an average of $160.01 (U.S.) when we’re able to get back. Two teams, Boston ($162.36) and the New York Rangers ($182.43), will cost more. The Leafs are expected to have the most expensive average ticket ($128.69), the Rangers the most expensive beer ($15), the Bruins the most expensive parking ($29), and Vegas the most expensive hot dog ($7). That’s all courtesy of an outfit called TNBets.com.
› Best and worst: Another betting company, Top10Casinos, sent me a study that suggested the most hated fan base in hockey was that of the Leafs. I knew that already. Boston followed Toronto, then Anaheim. I don’t get that. Hands up if you even know a Ducks fan (of the team, not the movie).
› Zamboni goalie: Bodog lists Chris Pratt as the favourite to play David Ayres in the Disney movie that’s going to be made about Ayres’ emergency backup win over the Leafs last season, when both Carolina goalies were injured. Pratt was one the Guardians of the Galaxy, right? Now he can be the guardian of the net.