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TFR VOLUME XXII NUMBER 19

THE FISCHLER REPORT

HOCKEY’S WEEKLY THIN K T A N K TFR FEBRUARY 25, – MARCH 2, 2016

OBSERVATIONS: IN THIS ISSUE: Cup? Based on his in-season performance, Stam- * JAROMIR JAGR'S astonish- kos appears more like a good second-line for- ing success in Sunrise has right- ward. JAROMIR JAGR 1 fully inspired waves of praise 2 for the Czech legend. But it's He stands 9th in scoring and 32nd in points. also worthwhile commending Granted that Stamkos will be coveted when he ASPHALT AVENGERS 3 those who had both the fore- turns UFA but until that day comes he'd be well sight and faith in bringing Dou- served by providing the Bolts with the kind of 4 ble J to the Panthers. That offense for which they are paying him -- and maybe will pay him next season. 5 would be and his trusty Hall of Fame advisor Bill 6 GOSSIP: Barring an unexpectedly late Mon- Torrey. The Tallon-Torrey team also rate kudos treal playoff surge, there appears to be no way for their choice of coach. has ex- that Michel Therrien can keep his job behind the tracted more out of Jagr than any bench boss Habs’ bench next season. His boss Marc Ber- Publishers: could be expected and that goes for a Scotty gevin knows that and will act accordingly. Stan Fischler Bowman as well. One of the two “Guys” must be considered an option to be the next coach for the Canadiens: (@StanFischler) Guy Boucher is a French-Canadian, familiar As for Jagr, he was gracious post-game following David Kolb with the organization from his days his two-goal performance last weekend to leap with its former AHL affiliate in Hamilton, and (@DavidKolbMSG) frog Brett Hull into third place on the all-time also has previous NHL coaching experience as goals scored list with 742. “You got to have great the bench boss for Tampa Bay. There also is Guy Managing Editor: teammates, passing the puck and they did it. I got Carbonneau, a two-time champion David Kolb with the Habs as a player. … Likewise, Ther- 20 goals at age 44 because of this, so thank you rien's bete noir, P.K. Subban, will remain a guys,” he said. Canadien and may even be named Editor in Chief: next season. This means that Max Pacioretty Leo Scaglione Jr. Next on the list is , who totaled 801 might very well be the name Montrealer to be (@LeoScaglioneJr) goals. “When I got the birthday cake for my 44th traded. ... Speaking of names, birthday (on February 15), I got a wish and I said must be mulling over the possibility of dealing -- ‘I wish I’m going to be a goal scorer,’” Jagr or keeping for that matter -- his gifted Nazem Lead Reporters: Kadri. Lou might be mulling over the com- Vince Comunale chuckled. “So far it works so maybe I’m going to ment of one scout: "Kadri is a player who always (@PGHVC) catch Gordie, and maybe too.” will break your heart." … The Leafs also have six pending UFAs and there’s an excellent Rob Del Mundo Gretzky, the all-time leader, finished with 894 chance multiple players may be moved. The list (@Rob_DelMundo) includes goaltender James Reimer and forwards career tallies. Alan Greenberg P-A Parenteau, , Brad Boyes, (@thegovman) * won't be traded this sea- Marco Arcobello and Rich Clune. That son; that's the guarantee from his boss Steve Yz- was solidified during the weekend when pending UFA forward Shawn Matthias was dealt to Colo- erman. In the wake of that news, the more im- rado and then on Monday when forward Nick Staff Photographers: portant question is this: what can the Lightning's Spaling and defenseman Roman Polak were David Perlmutter captain do for his team in its quest for the Stanley moved to San Jose. Robert Kolb

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RALEIGH NEWSPAPER QUESTIONS of Raleigh-Durham. become winners amidst budget limitations HURRICANES’ RELEVANCE IN and a variety of other entertainment op- MARKETPLACE One only has to look south to Tampa and tions. this particular season to Florida where the While the Hurricanes cele- Panthers have played for years in front of Sounds exactly like the hockey team at brated the tenth anniversary cavernous empty seats. With the Panthers' which they were throwing stones. of winning the Stanley Cup winning record, that has changed. with a resounding 7-2 win over the Islanders and con- Hurricanes' management is caught between MORE GOSSIP:Since the Hurricanes have tinue to show signs of a promising future, the proverbial rock and hard place. They demonstrated that they can pull themselves the Raleigh's News & Observer took to re- must win to succeed at the gate. The ques- into the playoff mix without hashing the same old tired business prob- tion is how many years do they want to doing much scoring, doesn't that enhance lems of the team in a dominating full- wait and, of course, what happens to the the idea that g.m. will deal his feature front page story describing the fan base and sponsorship opportunities captain? Sure seems that way to us. It's not team's ongoing struggle to remain relevant during that wait? inconceivable that Eric could move from in the marketplace. Teams like the Maple Leafs don't have teaming with brother Jordan to skating Our Canes’ Insider, Joel Cohen, offers his those concerns even when going through a alongside bro Marc with the Rangers. ... If, perspective. rebuilding scenario. as seems the case, the Canucks miss the who could make a case for Willie For smaller non-traditional markets, the Issues about the team's ownership are not Desjardins keeping his coaching job in waiting period is crucial. The longer the new: Peter Karmanos, Jr., has been trying ? Unless you want to blame wait, the longer the losses. There are two to sell a block of shares for the past two g.m. for the Canucks’ col- strategies: spend money to make money years, but won't give up controlling inter- lapse. … The Flames were taken by sur- with some 'name' players, while your se- est. It's believed the money pit is tightening prise with the public announcement by lected draft players develop, or spend little as the team continues annual revenue loss- Gary Bettman regarding Dennis Wide- money and play the draft development es. man's text message. Teammate Joe Col- waiting game. borne said the league also could have It's well known that attendance has fallen used the text he received from Wideman, along with corporate sponsorship revenues, With the team in a once unthinkable few wishing the whole situation would go and that season ticket sales have decreased. points away from a wild card spot, the fo- away. He continued that since text messag- It's also well known that the team has had a cus is on which strategy g.m. Ron Francis es could be used by the NHL, that maybe losing record for the past years, failing to will take as he looks to next year and re- teammates shouldn't be texting as much make the playoffs where the big ticket solving contract issues with Eric Staal, anymore. money is generated. Additionally, we and fourth-highest team scoring know that to make it in a non-traditional leader, Kris Versteeg. Being razor thin market, you must win. All of this is not close to a playoff position makes it tough: breaking news, which really brings to mind spend money and assets for a playoff why this story was published at all. push and potential instant success or con- tinue the draft and youth movement for a While it's easy for anyone from the side- promising future. lines to write about a team's problems and bash them over the head, a negative-only Ironically, Raleigh's newspaper finds itself article about the Hurricanes hurts and must -- like other newspapers across the country not overlook the many positive effects that – seeking relevance in the marketplace, this team has had on a marketplace the size redefining and reinventing themselves to TFR VOLUME XXII NUMBER 19 Page 3

ASPHALT AVENGERS LEAGUE BRINGS CARTOON TO cept. They made the idea a reality and along with Phillips and LIFE partners Harry Poulos and Ray Murphy, they launched beta-test leagues in Salem, Massachusetts, and in Riley’s home state, New The Asphalt Avengers animation series is a Jersey, to see what the response would be from the kids. smashing success in the hockey world. Based upon real-life youth hockey players coached by “The kids absolutely loved the idea,” he explains. “It was some- the cartoon’s founder, Chris Riley, it has now thing different, unique. You didn’t have to be great to play the transformed beyond the digital realm into a game. You could just play it and have fun. That’s really what the living and breathing floor ball and street hock- whole message for it is – go out, have fun, be a good teammate, ey league. be respectful to the officials and to your coaches. In a special edition of Leo’s Lair, TFR Editor-in-Chief Leo “It’s about teaching the kids the proper way to compete in athlet- Scaglione, Jr., details the Asphalt Avengers cartoon and league. ics and not be mean, nasty -- the way you see a lot of stuff going on today – and good sportsman- “Just go play.” ship.” That’s the message that Chris Riley has for today’s youth. Riley feels it’s critical to link the league with the animation series. “Go outside, run around, get yourself healthy and have fun,” he states. “I remember as a kid going out when it was minus five “You want the kids to know that degrees wanting to go skate. I don’t see anybody on skating there’s something more than just ponds anymore.” a street hockey league -- that there’s a whole concept behind The reason is simple. Kids are indoors, glued to their couches it,” he says. “And it’s the Asphalt playing videogames for hour after hour, day after day. Gone are Avengers. They can go to the days when the front door of the house would open to kids YouTube or our main site and see the storylines that are develop- racing outside to play in their neighborhood until the street lights ing. That’s what the real thing is. You can’t just have a league; illuminated. it’s not defined. This way it’s defined by using Asphalt Avengers. I’ve got a name, I’ve got something to hook it to that kids can see But Chris has a plan that will reverse this terrible trend. and go, ‘Wow, there’s something to this. There’s an episodic se- ries that’s going to be behind this.’” In 1994 when the Rangers were chasing their curse-breaking Stanley Cup championship, Riley and one of his partners, Steve NHL players – including former Devils goaltender Martin Phillips, were discussing the kids Riley coached at the youth Brodeur – have lined up to be featured in the cartoon. hockey level in New Jersey. Phillips, an artist and cartoonist, was a basketball athlete but wasn’t a coach and wanted to learn about “Today everything is about competition and these guys have said, the personalities and the types of kids Riley worked with on the ‘Just go out and play. That’s how we did it. We didn’t care who ice. Together, they drew cartoon sketches of the kids in a series won or lost, we just wanted to play and have a good time,’” Riley they titled, “Asphalt Avengers.” says. “That’s how I look at the Asphalt Avengers. “There’s not one kid in there that’s a specific kid,” Riley ex- “NHL players have said to me, ‘I’ll do it. Let me know. I want to plains. “It’s a mesh. When you coach youth hockey, you coach be in an episode.’ was dying to be in an episode. Jim hundreds of kids in clinics and camps and teams. I did it for a Dowd, a Brick, New Jersey native, wanted to be involved as well. long time and probably coached over 5,000 kids and it’s based Retired guys, current guys, they would love to do it because it’s upon all of those personalities -- the kid who’s serious, the kid fun, it’s something different, something unique and that’s really who’s not a great athlete. I had a kid who did play-by-play on the what it will eventually become once we get moving on it.” bench as the game was going on. I had another kid who was al- ways concerned about his teammates. It was based off of all the The main theme for both the cartoon series and the league re- kids, all those personalities.” mains the same: Just go have fun. Riley continued working on the cartoon, keeping it up to date as “I don’t want this to be a very formal thing,” Riley concludes. “I the Devils began winning three Stanley Cups in a nine-year span, want to this be where a bunch of kids got together and just played and showed it around but the idea never gained traction. Then in and had a good time in front of their house. They went to tennis 2003, he caught his first break. courts in town in the winter and just played street hockey. I don’t want this to be where there’s parents, there’s kids, all of that. Just “We were able to get stuff redrawn, redone, and we found a com- go have fun for two, three hours after school with your friends. pany in , Three Rings Studios, which did the animation You’re outside; you’re not sitting around playing videogames. for us,” he says. “We gave them total control over the look and everything. They were able to come up with a cool look and a lot “Just go play.” of stuff for us.”

The began to show interest but the im- pending lockout wiped away any progress in the talks. It would The following are links to the cartoon: be another decade before Riley’s relentless pursuit would finally pay off. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15EQ4psBwfg Last Fall, Riley was approached by Mike Bonelli, who coached Main Site: http://www.3ringstudios.com/asphaltavengers/iface/ with Riley at the Nike Hockey Schools. He suggested floor ball and street hockey leagues based off of the Asphalt Avengers con- TFR VOLUME XXII NUMBER 19 Page 4

SHARKS SHOWING BITE ONCE AGAIN: THE PETER “We have a veteran group that since day one hasn’t made any DeBOER EFFECT? excuses for travel. San Jose consistently has some of the worst travel, worst scheduling, in the league,” he stated. “The core guys TFR’s Alan Greenberg takes a have been in it for six, seven years and they don’t make excuses. look at the improved San Jose They get off the plane and they show up at the rink. They’re Sharks. ready to work and all the credit goes to them and that mindset.” When the Sharks missed the Wilson has been under considerable heat for the team’s failure to playoffs last season for the first make the playoffs last year and for their history of early depar- time since 2002-03, g.m. Doug tures. Their competition in the West is formidable this season but Wilson decided it was finally with tough taskmaster DeBoer at the helm there likely was a ma- time for a shakeup. jor culture change on the team. With the blend of veteran and young talent on the squad they just might pull off a major post- Enter Peter DeBoer to replace season surprise. Todd McLellan as . DeBoer’s NHL history shows that he is at his best as soon as MORE GOSSIP: Jaromir Jagr loves the game in a way that he takes over a team. As a surpasses his passion for it two decades ago. When was the last rookie NHL coach in 2008-09 time anyone saw him without his trademark smile? “I don’t want he took the mediocre Florida to quit; there’s no reason to,” Jagr says. “I love the game and Panthers to within a tie breaker of a playoff berth. In his first year there are a million people who want to be in my position. If I can in New Jersey, the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Final. play in the NHL why not keep going?” Just a season ago he said With the season entering the homestretch the Sharks are in third he wanted to play until he is 50. So far, so good. … With Steven place in the Pacific Division. The nearest division rival is Arizo- Stamkos staying put, the Jets’ will be the next na, nine points behind. Last season the Sharks had almost an best rental prize. One potential landing spot is Anaheim. The identical point total at the same juncture in the season but were Ducks are playing much better and secondary scoring with Ladd under .500 in their last 25 games. DeBoer’s challenge will be to would be a major upgrade. Also, the Penguins have cap room for keep finding ways to win. the remainder of this season and could use Ladd to add more scoring to the third line. … Speaking of the Ducks, coach Bruce With long time superstars and Joe Thornton ag- Boudreau says, “(General Manager) Bob Murray is getting a lot ing, the so-called experts were calling for a major changing of the of credit for being patient during the extended drought. He’s a guard after last year’s debacle. Marleau and Thornton are still smart guy. I’m glad he didn’t make a change. It shows he had a there and although they don’t put up the numbers that they did in little bit of faith in me and in the team.” Bruce continues, “The the past, their production is adequate. personnel of that team, for the most part was the same team that went to the conference finals last year. So it was more of an Within days last summer Wilson signed free agent defenseman anomaly that we weren’t playing good. He had the faith in those Paul Martin, power forward Joel Ward and in the riskiest move of guys that they would turn it around and to me it’s been justified all, traded for goalie Martin Jones. Jones turned out to be a great by the way Corey (Perry) is scoring and (Ryan) Getzlaf is scor- find, appearing in 48 games to date. had the poorest of his five seasons in San Jose and was not re-signed. All of the ing and everybody else is contributing greatly.”… This from The moves proved fruitful. Sun's Steve Simmons: "There are four Americans among the top eleven scorers in the NHL -- Patrick Kane, Johnny The addition of Ward as a top six forward has helped. Ward is on Gaudreau, , and . That has never a near career best pace while playing alongside Marleau. happened before. And Kane is almost certain to become the first American to lead the NHL in scoring. Kane has a huge lead over A silent x-factor has been the usual superb two-way play of de- Jamie Benn and Tyler Sequin, but it's certainly not a Wayne fender Brent Burns who already has 19 goals and leads the team Gretzky lead." … Here's what The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch in ice time, shots and blocked shots. offers: "Flyers g.m. would like to be active in the next week, if possible. Hextall has been calling around to see if A key ingredient to success has been the superlative road anybody is willing to take defenseman Mark Streit ($5.25 million play. The Sharks are sub .500 at home while on the road they are next season) and Nick Schultz ($2.25 million in 2016-17) off his an amazing 21-9-2. Earlier in the season they swept a six-game hands. It doesn't stop there, as Philly also wouldn't mind moving road swing. After the recent perfecta on the east and west coasts Matt Read, who has two seasons left at $3.625 million. of Florida, team captain Joe Pavelski observed, “Lately whether That trio will be difficult to move but the Flyers would like to it's been on the road or at home, we've had good starts and found free up cap space…The Oilers wouldn't mind moving out a few ways to win and get points. No doubt on the road we're commit- ted to playing a pretty disciplined game. We've played through contracts. The club is shopping winger Lauri Korpikoski ($2.5 the neutral zone pretty good. When we stick with that I think we million in 2016-17) along with defenseman Justin Schultz have some guys who can make plays.” (restricted free agent) and winger Teddy Purcell (unrestricted free agent)." … Funniest Line of the Week Prize goes to Islanders When reminded that his charges have defeated all four division coach Jack Capuano after being asked whether he consults with leaders on the road, DeBoer said, “We’re out every night trying to his boss about potential deadline trades. Cappy prove that we’re in that elite group of teams.” back: “My elevator doesn’t go to that floor!” DeBoer deflected much of the credit for the road success away from him and towards the veteran players. TFR VOLUME XXII NUMBER 19 Page 5

CSN MID-ATLANTIC’S AL KOKEN DISCUSSES THE That visionary thinking, that attention to detail, that knowing CAPITALS (PART I) what every little thing is going to be from even back in mid-July, when you just got the job, sets Barry apart from maybe some of Currently in his 31st year the other coaches that have been here. covering the Capitals, “Smokin” Al Koken has In next week’s Part II, Koken discusses Caps g.m. Brian MacLel- evolved into a media lan and Alex Ovechkin’s impact on the franchise. treasure in Washington. Our Jeremy Strauss sat down with Koken to dis- cuss his thoughts on this GUS VIC ATTACKS SEVERAL NHL ISSUES Capitals’ team and those past. Our Gus Vic looks back at the and Anton Stralman COMPARING THE 2015-16 CAPITALS TO TEAMS FROM hits, then moves on to the Canadiens and Capitals. A must read: PREVIOUS SEASONS: Though a fan of Leo Komarov, the Department of Player Safety There's a better balance top to bottom on this team than I've seen uses previous player history as too much of a crutch to avoid de- on teams past. Mike Richards shores up the bottom six. By the livering longer suspensions. Each first incident needs to be taken trade deadline g.m. Brian MacLellan may add another de- at face value and severity escalates from there as opposed to go- fenseman who can play in the top four or five. They need a Joe ing easy on the first transgression. The blindside hit on Ryan Reekie or Charlie Bourgeois-type defenseman. They also need to McDonagh from February 18 was not far from Matt Cooke's ver- think about a more physical presence, particularly if there's any- sion on , which basically ended the latter's career. thing that happens to Brooks Orpik. Another hit came from Anton Stralman. Within a few seconds, he Other than that, with that mix of youth with guys like Evgeny clipped ’s Nik Ehlers with a knee-on-knee hit before Kuznetzov and Andre Burakovsky playing the way they are, and nailing a very vulnerable Bryan Little on, what I would regard as, the veteran experience they've brought in the last two years with an avoidable open ice hit. Stralman is another player without a Orpik and , there's a better balance. And you've record but it's hard to blame for losing it with the got, arguably other than 1998 when Olie Kolzig took them to the officials -- particularly laughing Francois St. Laurent. , the best goaltending that they've had. And now there’s a rumor out of Montreal that P.K. Subban is From top to bottom, it's a depth thing, and an ability to play any being shopped by the Habs. With a full no-trade clause kicking in way you want. Do I want to beat you 7-5, or do I want to beat you at season's end, good luck finding a team not named the Maple 2-1? This team can do either. Leafs that would be okay picking up his financial freight.

BARRY TROTZ: While one can question Subban's judgment trying to carry the puck instead of playing it into the corner, the ensuing Avalanche You definitely see a structure on and off the ice in terms of not rush was a three-on-three which was dreadfully defended -- par- only how this team wants to play, but how this team gets led from ticularly by captain Max Pacioretty -- who managed to stop skat- the inside. The coach can only do so much; Barry established a ing, lose his coverage, and allowed free real estate leadership council to get the right group of people to lead the to tap in the game-winner. Michel Therrien's singling out of Sub- locker room from within because all coaches have to do it. ban simply underscores the unprecedented spiral of a once 9-0 team. I had the occasion to work for over ten years with Hall of Fame basketball coach John Thompson. We were lucky enough to one Finally, going to go out on a limb here. As good as the Capitals’ day have Phil Jackson on in an interview. This was off the air, but season has been, I believe their best chance to advance to the I remember asking Phil about if it was difficult to deal with a Eastern Conference Final will come if the Devils are one of their mercurial personality like Dennis Rodman. And he said, “I didn't two first round opponents. Over the course of a seven-game se- have to do it, Michael (Jordan) did.” And that kind of reminded ries, the Devils would make the Caps earn every inch of ice but me of how you have to have that structure inside the locker room. New Jersey ultimately can't match the Caps' depth. A coach can only go so far and Barry has really brought that. I remember Barry telling me in training camp his first year that he On the other hand, Washington's recent playoff history against had already made up the lineups, give or take one or two players, the Rangers and Penguins is dubious and an opening round series for all of his preseason games. And he had done them in the mid- with the Islanders could be even more taxing than last year -- just dle of July. ask Pierre McGuire. TFR VOLUME XXII NUMBER 19 Page 6

PHILLY FLYING HIGH 30 – SECOND THIRD DEGREE – ROBBY FABBRI Prior to the Flyers’ five- Blues forward Robby Fabbri, 19, is a , na- game road trip, the club tive. Drafted 21st overall in 2014, he played junior with the On- was starting to play tario Hockey League’s and represented Canada some of their best hock- on the 2015 Gold Medal team at the World U20 Junior Champi- ey of the season. The onship. Flyers were 24-20-10 on the season heading Our John Ploszay caught up with Robby in Winnipeg. into the formidable trip and only a mere six TRANSITION TO NHL: points out of a playoff spot. The Broad Street It’s been good besides the injury. Last year playing with the Bullies hadn’t per- (AHL) after Guelph’s season was a time to de- formed as well on the velop and make that jump to professional hockey. road as they had hoped during the campaign, Then this summer being in St. Louis and training there with all and needed a spark dur- the preparation and being on the ice in that special environment ing the trip to allow has helped. It’s special with that group of guys we have here in them to ascend in the standings. the room. Our Michael Zahn details what has transpired during the Flyers’ DRAFT EXPERIENCE: trip that has Philadelphia pondering, “Playoffs? Playoffs!” I went in with no expectations. I wanted to enjoy the day with my Sporting an 11-12-3 record on the road prior to the trip, the Flyers family. You only get drafted once – whether it’s sixth round, sev- knew what was at stake. enth round, whatever. It’s a neat day for everyone. I am very happy the way it turned out. “Go out and play well,” head coach demanded. “Nothing more, nothing less.” HOCKEY INFLUENCES WHILE PLAYING IN GUELPH: Coming off a 2-1 overtime defeat to the Devils, the Flyers needed Scott Walker (head coach) and Todd Harvey (assistant coach). something to spark them. Our coaches were guys who had played. From my rookie year straight into my last year; they’ve been there and know what it The answer came in defeat. The lone Flyers’ goal was scored by takes to be there and stay there. rookie defenseman , which gave him an 11- game point streak; the longest by a rookie defenseman in NHL MOST MEMORABLE NHL GOAL: history. My first NHL goal, which was scored against “I credit confidence since day one, since I got called up,” he said of establishing the record. “It’s a huge thing. You can’t play with- FIRST CAR: BMW. out it.” CURRENT CAR: BMW. Gostisbehere started to find his stride in all three zones while being paired with since-injured Michael Del Zotto. DREAM CAR: Whatever new BMW they come out with. Due to the injury that sidelined Del Zotto, Hextall and company SUITS: were forced to make a call-up to add some defensive depth. As expected, the team’s brass recalled Andrew MacDonald from I own four suits – don’t wear them all, all the time – but I own AHL Lehigh Valley. Even though Gostisbehere has been without four. My uncle owns his own suit shop – John Ferrigamo Custom his defensive partner, Shayne’s consecutive-game point streak Designs in Toronto. He helps and gives his input but I choose on continues. the basis of what I want. Thanks to Gostisbehere’s contributions, the team has managed to BEST-DRESSED BLUE: pick up some key points late in the season. During the road trip that has one game remaining against Carolina, the Flyers are 2-1- Christian Berglund is pretty well dressed. 1. WORST-DRESSED BLUE: “We have a lot more games in the season,” said first-line winger, Wayne Simmonds. “I don’t think it matters where we’re playing. (Laughs) Many would say me. We have to get points and that’s the bottom line.” RAP OR ROCK MUSIC: The Flyers will get an opportunity to become reacquainted with the Wells Fargo Center when they start a six-game home stand I’d say Rap. Thursday night against the Wild.