Desjardins gets the big things right
Kane is NHL’s MVP, Bolts blew it with Drouin and the Orange Crush is back in Denver
Just six more sleeps until the NHL All-Star Game, and if you’re not excited about a three-on-three tournament in Nashville with Dierks Bentley as a celebrity coach then, brother, you’re not living.
Now here’s something almost as exciting — my Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports.
Over a year and a half into his four-year deal with the Canucks, Willie Desjardins still does things that make you wonder.
There’s his ongoing loyalty to Linden Vey and Derek Dorsett. On Saturday in Pittsburgh, his team was clearly suffering a meltdown in the third period and he didn’t call a timeout. The Canucks’ power play is 24th in the league and their penalty killing is 20th. We could go on.
But, when you look at the Canucks’ roster, can you honestly say this team should have a better record?
When you look at individual players, can you say any of them has regressed under Desjardins’ watch? And, most importantly, when you look at the kids, do you see them developing on schedule?
Desjardins has some sins to answer for but, in the big areas, he ticks a lot of boxes. Don’t know if he’ll be the coach to lead this team when the young talent matures. Do know he’s not the Canucks’ biggest problem.
With the NHL heading to the AllStar break, here’s a quick review of the season to date.
Hart Trophy: Patrick Kane. And second place isn’t particularly close. Kane is quietly having one of the most dominating seasons in recent NHL memory. He leads the league in goals and assists. Before Sunday’s game he was 15 points ahead of second place Jamie Benn in the scoring race and he’s done all this in a deadpuck NHL. The game is still suffocating, but at least we’re not talking about another goalie as the NHL’s most valuable player.
Vezina: Braden Holtby. The Capitals were five points ahead of Chicago in the Presidents’ Trophy race before Sunday’s schedule with five games in hand, and it starts with their goalie. Holtby is first in wins, fifth in save percentage, third in GAA.
Runner-up: Cory Schneider in New Jersey. Don’t know if there’s another player as important to his team.
Norris: The Senators’ Erik Karlsson, although I’d love to vote for Ryan Suter or Drew Doughty. Karlsson is fourth in the league in scoring, no other blueliner is within 10 points, and he leads all players in minutes played. He’s not the defenceman you’d take first if you were starting a team. That would be Doughty. But his numbers present an overwhelming argument.
Calder: Artemi Panarin of the Blackhawks. A strong rookie class makes this the most interesting race of all. Dylan Larkin, Max Domi, Jack Eichel and Sam Bennett are all making significant contributions to their teams. Ducks goalie John Gibson leads the NHL with a 1.91 GAA. The Coyotes’ Louis Domingue has put up stellar numbers.
Adams: Barry Trotz. The Capitals’ record speaks for itself, although Florida’s Gerard Gallant deserves a nod.
Feel-good story: Senior citizen Jaromir Jagr leading the Panthers to relevancy.
Feel-bad story: Connor McDavid’s injury. The league was denied a transcendent talent for most of its first segment.
Story to watch: There are still 18 teams between 48 and 57 points, which means, theoretically, they’re all still in the playoff hunt. The NHL can sell that race, which is good, because they’re having a hard time selling the game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t made a lot of mistakes under Steve Yzerman’s watch but they’ve handled the Jonathan Drouin situation with the skill of a gorilla handling cut crystal. First they alienated the third overall pick of the 2013 draft by refusing to play him in last season’s playoffs. Then they diminished his value by sending him to the minors. Now they’re trying to extract maximum value for Drouin in a trade. Sorry, you can’t have it both ways. Drouin was drafted ahead of players like Seth Jones, Sean Monahan and Bo Horvat, but that was almost three years ago.
Drouin has since played 89 NHL games while Jones and Monahan have both played more than 200. Drouin’s numbers, in fact, are about the same as Curtis Lazar’s, the 17th overall pick in 2013.
The point is, he’s no longer a premium asset. Some of that’s on the player, but the Bolts have to wear most of this one.
Who knew?: TSN has Radim Vrbata listed third among players generating the most interest as the trade deadline approaches. Don’t know if that’s a commentary on Vrbata or what’s available, but if the Canucks can turn the veteran winger into a second-round draft pick, that’s a win for the organization.
Seahawks GM John Schneider suggested Marshawn Lynch is leaning toward retirement this week but, whatever the eccentric running back decides, it’s clear he’s played his last game with the NFL team.
When they won the Super Bowl two years ago, the Seahawks were built around their defence and their power running game. Now, they’re Russell Wilson’s team, and keeping Lynch only complicates things.
You can always find running backs. Franchise quarterbacks are a little harder to come by.
Finally, here’s the take-away from Sunday’s epic showdown between legendary quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the AFC Championship Game Denver’s defence is really good. The Hall of Fame storyline, of course, never materialized in Denver, which left a dull plodding affair decided by a missed extra point and Manning’s game management.
There were no defining moments provided by Manning and Brady. There were no fireworks.
Brady was a treated like a human pinata by the Broncos’ pass rush, who also picked off the Patriots quarterback twice.
But can they do it again in the Super Bowl? It doesn’t figure. Carolina is tougher, more physical and more complete on both sides of the ball.
Their running game will be a factor. They will score more than 18 points.
Brady led all Patriots rushers with 13 yards on Sunday.
As for the Denver offence, they’ll have to do something out of character to beat Ron Rivera’s team and Manning just doesn’t have it anymore. Two years ago the Seahawks crushed the Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. Don’t be surprised if it’s a similar story this time around.