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PUCKHEAD MAILBAG
By Ethan Calof 

Vol I,Vol II, Vol III Vol IV

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Puckhead Mailbag!

Before I delve into your questions, I first need to provide an update on last week’s breaking news: the firing of Craig Hartsburg as the head coach of the Ottawa Senators, and the hiring of Cory Clouston on an interim basis.

After the firing, the Sens have uncharacteristically been playing inspired hockey. They have recorded a record of 3-1-1, with the three wins coming in a row for the first time all season. The team has hustled, scored, and defended well. Basically, they have performed exactly opposite of what they had proven throughout the first half of the season.

Much of this success, of course, has to be attributed to Clouston. His refreshing new attitude and youthful energy is in stark contrast to Hartsburg’s, well, age. He better relates to the players, and as such has a better ability to inspire his team.

However, one of the key changes from Clouston is an increased focus on offensive aggression. This is something that was missing during the past few coaches; Hartsburg ran a defensive-oriented system, in part to cover the fact that he had no skilled defenders. This may have been sending the dazed and confused team mixed signals about what was expected offensively. At this point, though, it seems that all they needed was a little reinforcement of the concept that you need to score more than the other guys in order to win.

Now, onto a few questions:

Who is the best team in the history of the NHL (in a single season)?

-The Rookie, Germantown

The consensus answer to this one is the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens outfit that ran up a gaudy total of 60 wins, only 8 losses, and 12 ties. In this case, I have to agree with the rest of the world.

This team had dominance etched all over them, and acted as the pinnacle of the Canadiens’ dynasty in the late 1970’s. The team featured nine future Hall of Famers (Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Bob Gainey, Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and Ken Dryden), not to mention their Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman. All in all, the team accumulated fifteen NHL honours that year.

That year, they finished an astonishing 49 points higher than the second-place team in their division, the L.A. Kings, and 20 points higher than the second-best team in the entire league. They scored 387 goals, and allowed only 171 on the year. Quite simply, they were dominant.

The playoffs were a whole different animal for the Habs, though. In the first round, they easily cast aside the 10^th seeded St. Louis Blues, sweeping the series. In the second round, they faced the streaking New York Islanders, featuring a young Brian Trottier and fresh off a sweep of the Buffalo Sabres, and stopped them in six games. In the finals, they faced the mighty Boston Bruins and swept them, too.

No team has approached that kind of dominance.

Onto a more modern question…

What sticks are better: the modern ones, or the wood ones?

-The Captain, Saint Leo

In my mind, the choice is quite clear: go composite. I’m not just the only one who feels this way, though: only about 10 NHLers use wooden sticks.

The only benefits I can see towards wooden sticks are the fact that they don’t break as often and that they feel more natural in your hands. In all other regards, though, composite sticks are superior. They are more flexible, lighter, provide more power, and give you more manoeuvrability.

I have used both types of sticks in my hockey “career”, and the difference is very clear. When I used the wood stick, it began splintering at the bottom of the blade half-way through the season. This year, however, I am using a brand-new composite stick, and I’ve been rewarded with my greatest production yet.

Who was the best NHL commissioner of all time?

-The Rookie (again)

Throughout the NHL’s history, they have had only six men serve as commissioner. Among them, two stand out as truly great heads of the league: Frank Calder and Clarence Campbell. To me, though, one of them has a clear spot as the commish’s GOAT: Campbell.

Clarence Campbell is the longest-serving commissioner in NHL history, with his reign spanning 31 years from 1946 until 1977. The whole way, he has been a guiding force and steadfast leader for the league. His contributions for the league have been remarkable, along with his poise in the face of trouble.

One of his greatest accomplishments was his overseeing of the great NHL expansion in 1967. The Original Six was an incredible era, but eventually the league needed to set its roots throughout the rest of North America. This move not only brought hockey to new places, it affirmed the league’s status as a member of the “Big Four” sports.

Some of his other great achievements include the institution of the NHL Pension Plan, the lengthening of the season, and the institution of the inter-league draft. The Pension Plan ensures that old legends would not be hung out to dry, which happened before mainly because people were busy playing hockey when they should have been getting an education. The lengthening of the season allowed hockey to be seen more, which in turn increased profits for the league and the individual teams. The inter-league draft is crucial, though. Before, teams would be given the rights automatically to players within a 100 mile radius of their city, which allowed teams like Toronto and Montreal to hoard the talent and Boston and Chicago to end up with sub-par squads. Now, everybody could have a shot.

His unflappable nature is what puts him over the top, though. This is highlighted by two big decisions he made. The first was the controversial suspension of Maurice Richard in 1955. Richard was the most loved figure in the league at the time, but he clearly broke the rules by attacking a linesman during a game. Despite the blatant act, most people wouldn’t have suspended him, if only because it was Rocket Richard. Campbell didn’t flinch, though. Richard was gone for the rest of the season and playoffs.

He also performed admirably when the NHL was confronted with their biggest challenge yet: the upstart World Hockey Association. The league was poaching stars left and right, whether current stars Bernie Parent and Bobby Hull, future stars Wayne Gretzky and Mike Gartner, or European stars such as Kent Nilsson. However, once again Campbell didn’t flinch. His barring WHA players from competing in the Summit Series took away credibility from the breakaway league in the eyes of the fans, and Canada’s eventual victory enhanced the scepticism; it showed that the NHL was where the real talent lay. Eventually, the WHA disbanded, reaffirming the NHL’s reign as the kings of hockey.

In short, Campbell’s leadership, grace, and all-around strength lead to him gaining my humble little designation as the greatest commissioner of all time. His contributions to the game are numerous and undeniable.

After that whopper, time for something shorter…

Does the NHL keep turnover statistics?

-The Aussie Hockey Fan from Warragul

I don’t believe so. NHL.com shows nothing, and I couldn’t find anything else on any other site. That being said, if any readers know a place to access these statistics, do not hesitate to speak up.

Time for the grand finale…

You mentioned the firing of Craig Hartsburg in great detail last week. What other head coaches do you think are in jeopardy this year?

-Johnny Appleseed, Detroit

While I was writing this Mailbag, the news reached me that Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Michel Therrien was axed, a year after leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals. This proved that this year is definitely proving to be a minefield for head coaches. Already, Therrien, Hartsburg, Lightning coach Barry Melrose, Blackhawks coach Denis Savard, and Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette have been placed on the chopping block. NHL teams seem to be more eager to win right away thanks to the prospect of having their team destroyed by the salary cap.

Right now, though, I see only one head coach with a shot at getting fired before the season is up. The answer may surprise you, but this man is Wayne Gretzky. Right now, the legend is helming a falling ship in the desert with the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Coyotes are “saddled” with a talented roster with tons of promise, and expectations were heightened heading into the season. They traded for Olli Jokinen in a move that signified that they were ready to make the leap into “contender” status. The enthusiasm only grew when the Coyotes found themselves in fifth place in the West at the All-Star break.

Since then, however, the team has been trapped in a never-ending cycle of woe in the competitive Western conference. They’ve fallen so far that they are now ranked 14^th out of 15 teams. The top guns aren’t producing, the goaltending is struggling, and this falls on the coach. Wayne should be gone by the end of the year.

The only other coach who I see potentially being in hot water is Jacques Lemaire, the head coach in Minnesota. His team, too, is struggling, yet they haven’t fallen nearly as far as the Coyotes (despite embarrassingly coughing up a 3-0 lead against the woeful Ottawa Senators). I feel like the team will be back in contention in no time, which should spare the Hall of Famer’s neck for the time being.

Submitted February 2009

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