Now that Detroit has been screwed by the War Room, the Great Thinkers of the NHL have come to the idea that it may be time to make some changes in the way games are officiated. They’re not talking about rule changes per se, but things like where the officials should position themselves on the ice so that a Great Power does not get screwed again. One of the ideas that has been discussed is to have a referee stand closer to the goal so that he can make better calls.
This sounds great, right? What could be better than having an official hovering around the back of the net so that a whistle can be blown in a timely manner, goals can be called or saves can be posted with more authority. Except there is a huge problem with this “new idea”. A few years ago, we officials were told NOT to stand directly behind the net because we would block out the overhead cameras that are used for video replay.
So what would you rather have, a pair of eyes belonging to a seasoned professional referee making a call, or the camera shot that never lies? I can’t wait until a goal is reviewed but nothing can be concluded because the official is in the way of the camera.
One idea that is never mentioned is to have a video monitor available for the official to see when a goal is being reviewed, like the NFL and NCAA. The official would do a much better review of the play when he sees the play again while he is doing a mental review. But that would require either a larger officials area in the arena and thus fewer seats and revenue for the teams, or a slower process where the official retreats to his dressing room for the video review. You tell me what changes you want, NHL.
Nikita Filatov has probably landed now and no doubt enjoying his favorite food and listening to his favorite music, which I just happened to find.
It’s a band from the Ukraine called Los Colorados [mighty name] doing a cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold”. Fun fact: the lead singer of the band, Ruslan Prystupa, didn’t even speak English at the time this was recorded. And probably still doesn’t; that’s how they roll over there.
Good luck, Nik. Hope to see you light up the NHL real soon.
A nice win for the Blue Jackets last night in Dallas. All of the CBJ goals came on special teams, including a short-handed beauty by Kristian Huselius in the first period with less than one second on the clock. Juice’s goal should shut the commenters up on some of the local blogs, although this morning they are rightfully pissed off about the James Neal hit on Derek Dorsett. I won’t post the video, but it is all over the web if you want to watch. Neal was given a five and game and will probably face a hearing and more discipline. The play will add to the criticism that NHL officiating has been getting lately, adding on to the number of issues facing the game. I joked last week about Rick Nash doing a D League move on his shootout goal, but Neal copied a D (or E) League move with his hit from behind. So we’ll see what happens, but I care more about Dorsett recovering than I do Neal getting a suspension.
I suppose we can look forward to Tom Sestito having a busy night in Nashville. I say that without sarcasm, because the Predators (and Jordan Tootoo) play a lot tougher at home than they do on the road. The PIM’s in the first period could be high on Saturday. Opposing teams now think the Jackets are soft without Nikita Filatov in the lineup.
We complained about this all the time and you just stood by and called us whiners. I’m not going to call you a whiner because you clearly took one in the shorts here, but how does it feel? Just eat a lot of ice cream.
1. I don’t think Hitchcock is anti-Russian, but he is anti-young, anti-finesse, pro-defense, and pro-large size. Earlier this season, I watched the Jackets play Calgary on the Flames’ broadcast and the announcers all marveled that Kris Russell is still on the team because he doesn’t fit the Ken Hitchcock mold. Before you conclude that Hitchcock must be changing, remember that for Hitch it was either Kris Russell or Duvie Westcott. A very easy choice.
2. Is Nikita Filatov spoiled? No, he would have made less money in Syracuse and he clearly belonged in the NHL. But not in Columbus. Burning bridges in Columbus would not have helped him negotiate with other NHL teams in the future. So he gets to play every day and make a decent wage in Russia. I’ve met him on two occasions and he was gracious and friendly, looking like a nervous high school senior. Filatov looked at others in his draft class and thought that he belonged, but he wasn’t getting the chance. Ryan Kesler played just one season at OSU and thought the same thing, much to the chagrin of those around him.
3. The situation is not the best for the organization. Yes, Filatov is slated to return next season, but that is next season. The Jackets drafted yet another first round player who is not with the team today. Will other finesse players want to come here as a free agent? If they are 6′2″, weigh at least 210, and hit everything that moves, maybe.
4. Is there a rift between Howson and Hitchcock. Probably, but not a large one. The team currently is winning and the majority of players that Howson picked are acceptable to Hitchcock, so one difference of opinion is not unusual. The two men are going to have to reach some sort of understanding because there are only so many Hitchcock-type players out there.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have loaned forward Nikita Filatov to CSKA (pronounced CHESH-ka) of the Kontinental Hockey League for the remainder of the 2009-10 season, General Manager Scott Howson announced November 17. more
Don’t tell me about your building program anymore, Jackets. Anyone can put players on the ice, but I expected you guys to coach and develop them. If the road to the playoffs is built with Tom Sestito and Alexander Picard, you’ve lost me.
The Jackets won last night, 3-2 in the shoot-out, their current method of showing competitiveness. Oh, by the way, Nikita Filatov may be leaving the team.
Rookie forward Nikita Filatov, who has struggled to remain in coach Ken Hitchcock’s lineup, might be headed back to Russia, perhaps as soon as this week, according to sources within and beyond the NHL.
Jackets general manager Scott Howson would not comment on a potential agreement allowing the 19-year-old Filatov to return to his former club team, CSKA Moscow. Nothing has been finalized, however, and Filatov and the Blue Jackets are expected to talk again today about the possibility of staying in Columbus.
Man, this brings back the good old days, doesn’t it? We have a team that wins, although not convincingly, and we get a soap opera as an added bonus. It almost looks as if Doug MacLean is back in charge. Make a controversial move when the whole town is thinking about how bad OSU is going to pound Michigan this Saturday. We have a GM who drafted a player that the coach doesn’t want. We already did this with Nick Zherdev. But in the case of Zherdev, there were a lot of other issues that we were kept in the dark about that came to light when he went to New York.
I won’t pretend to know what is going on here between Filatov and Hitchcock. It is known that Coach Hitchcock prefers veteran players who will do what he wants, which is to play defense first, second, and last. Ask Brett Hull. And the Derrick Dorsett’s are fine, but they are not going to get you a lot of wins. But why waste Filatov? Do you think he will bother to return any calls from Columbus if he goes to the KHL?
Maybe this is some misguided way to help with the financial bind that the organization is in. Ship an expensive player overseas who is not playing in the NHL to save money. Perhaps it also shows the limits of the current coaching system of the Jackets. For all the progress that the Jackets have made under the current coaching and management, they are showing signs that they have not improved much since last season. I still think that they will make the playoffs, but more than two home games in the playoffs does not look possible at this time.
So spin this one as hard as you can, Blue Jackets. A number one pick, a guy who everybody inside the hockey world likes, might leave town without any return on investment.
Just 16 games into the NHL schedule, the play of Pascal Leclaire is starting to raise an eyebrow or two around Ottawa after some questionable displays in the opening weeks.
On Friday, following the Senators’ 5-1 loss in Philadelphia the night before, coach Cory Clouston admitted Leclaire still has some work to do to prove he’s the dependable No. 1 the Senators were counting on him to be when they acquired him before the last trade deadline.
Rick Nash, fresh off his game clinching shoot-out goal last night, admitted that he studied local Chiller Adult League players and picked up some valuable moves. “I never would have thought that skating off-balanced would be such a great move!” said the Jacket captain. “A lot of local D Leaguers approach me and always want to talk about their game, so one Thursday night I sneaked into a Chiller and watched a few of them. Man, I saw goals scored that I thought weren’t even possible.”
When asked if there was anyone in particular who “coached” him, Rick would only say that he used a lot of “combined” moves. But I personally studied some of the D League video and believe that this is the guy who Nash copied. You can just tell by the smooth confidence shown by this unnamed player that he has a lot of natural ability, stuff that can’t be learned from coaching.
