Tuesday Caps Clips: Chocolatetown Champs Yet Again

Congrats to the Bears. That’s a great pic of Neuvy up there. It was fun to see the guys on the ice start jumping and getting excited with 15-20 seconds left on the clock.

Ray Bourque’s chest hair was horrifying

So if I’m reading Zona’s article on draft success right, teams like Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit have had success drafting in the 2nd round and beyond, yes?

“It never gets old. I’ve won a few championships now, and every time it’s a thrill.”

— John Carlson

Oh, to be 20 years old and to be able to say, “I’ve won a few championships.”

With the news the jerseys will be unveiled at CapsCon I’m afraid tickets will be even harder for me to get as a non-STH.

Just put in my order for championship T shirt and hat….hooray!!

Neuvi definitely referred to it as his last game as a Hershey bear.

"If that is true, it is pretty nice to get a shutout in my last game with the Hershey Bears," Neuvirth said. "It is an unbelievable feeling. I don’t know what can I say? It was an unbelievable season and an unbelievable playoffs."

Boy did he want his shutout last night. Loved how sharp he was when he was tested. These rookies should bring that confidence with them when they join the roster next season.

I can only recall Alzner’s words, but paraphrasing he said that he was now happy that he had spent so much time with the Bears this season because he was a much more rounded and complete player. He was rock solid to me.

Just the addition of the two of them and Carly has me really excited for this new season. I have a feeling that Carly is on his way to many GWG.

I am fully committed to a Neuvy and Varly goaltending tandem next year. I think we have to give it a shot…it will open up so much cap space in front of them.

LINK

grabbing a few minutes here at the convention to say hello!

B-E-A-R-S! BEARS BEARS BEARS! whooooooooooooooooooooo!

I snuck out last night and got to watch the game, I had a big stupid grin on my face all night.

Also, best of luck to Paul, who I am immensely thankfully for his tweets of support for our Saves for Kids drive.

I think I’m bad luck for Loudoun County drivers. I went up for Game 1 of the finals, and on the way back home driving down Route 15 was stopped on the Virginia side of the Potomac at Point of Rocks because of trees that fell during a storm and injured drivers.

Last night, driving home down Route 15 again… cross the Potomac at Point of Rocks, and on the Virginia side a motorcyclist appeared to have had a serious accident (ambulances, police, fire and rescue, etc.). Cars backed up on the Potomac River bridge after midnight. Didn’t get home until about 1:30, scribbled some stuff and posted some pics, got to bed at 2:30, got up at 4 am to come into town.

I am a walking advertisement for that 5-hour energy drink. But the moral of the story is, if Peerless is on the road after midnight… you should not be, at least on Route 15 in Virginia.

Love this from Tarik:

GMGM told me last night that the Winter Classic unis are done. So now we just have to wait for NHL.com to accidentally leak them.

JP linked to the preview post for the VFMS awards above, but here are some direct links if you don’t feel like clicking through:

- Norris Trophy (…sorry, Greenie, I had to)
- the completely fictional Mattias Norstrom Defensive Defenseman Trophy – I’m not quoted in this one but Sarge gets some love so it might still be worth reading ;)

I posted an analysis using a hockey-modified version of the Keltner List (it’s named for borderline hall-of-fame baseball player Ken Keltner by Bill James, who wrote about it in The Politcs of Glory) for Peter Bondra, Dino Ciccarelli and Olie Kolzig back in July. I didn’t include Adam Oates although he is mentioned in passing in the analysis.

Here’s Adam Oates in the list:

1) Was he ever regarded as the best player in hockey? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in hockey?

Clearly he wasn’t. Being a contemporary of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux makes that quite difficult.

2) Was he the best player on his team?
Ironically, for a player of this caliber, he never was the best player on his team: When he was with Detroit, he had Steve Yzerman as a teammate, with St. Louis he had Brett Hull, with Boston, Ray Bourque; with the Caps Peter Bondra. By the time he left the Caps for Philly, Anaheim and Edmonton he was a second line center.

3) Was he the best player in hockey at his position?

The answer to question 1 answers question 3. Oates was a center, as were Wayne and Garth Mario.

4) Did he have an impact on a number of Stanley Cup Playoffs (in James’ list it’s pennant races, they’re arguably a similar concept)?

Adam Oates made it to the Stanley Cup finals on two occasions. In 1998 with the Caps, where he was a major contributor, and in 2003 with Anaheim where he was also a contributor (although Paul Kariya was better on that team). He also played on teams that went deep into the playoffs, and did contribute to their success. He was not someone who was regarded as missing in the post season.

5)Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime?

Clearly he did. He was effective with Anaheim and Edmonton at the end of his career.

6) Is he the very best player in hockey history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

Among the eligible players, you can make a case for it. The article indicated above said Pierre Turgeon would be inducted this fall… Oates was a better player than Turgeon.

7) Are most players who have comparable career statistics in the Hall of Fame?

Adam Oates’ career numbers are definitely Hall of Fame calibre numbers.

8) Do the player’s numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?

Yes.

9)Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?

Yeah, I know I harp on face-off percentage a lot, but in this case it adds to Oates’ value. He was a 56% faceoff guy most of his career and was regarded as one of the best. He also was a top notch penalty killer and and was well above average when it came to defensive play.

That said, Oates also had a reputation in the locker room as a trouble maker. There was a reason he played for 7 teams during his career. He was great when he arrived, but when he left, it was usally good riddance.

10) Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in?

I would argue he is.

11) How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?

He never came close to winning an MVP, again he never was the best player on his team, despite how good he was.

12) How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the other players who played in this many go to the Hall of Fame?

Oates played in the All Star game a few times, but not as often as some of his contemporaries. There were always several centers ahead of him (Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzermand, Lindros…)

13) If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the Cup?

Considering he never won the Cup and was never the best player on his team, it would be very difficult to win the Cup with him as the best player.

14) What impact did the player have on hockey history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?

None.

15) Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

Off the ice, Oates was involved with charities at every destination and was a good citizen. There’s nothing in his background to preclude his being a Hall of Famer.

Personally, I think Oates will get in, and I think it will be this fall. If not then, then certainly in Fall 2011.

The Texas Stars are a classy outfit. Here’s their homepage today:

http://www.texasstarshockey.com/

I’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again….Karl Alzner has the greatest beard in the entire history of beards

Great quote from Helmer on Neuvy:

“A couple times tonight, I went back to him after some saves and he was laughing about them. They weren’t going to beat him tonight.”

What a kid.

Wyshynski’s article about the Bears is up on PD

Eklund reveals the Semin trade rumor scenario. Buckle your seatbelts and stash all beverages out of range of your monitor/keyboard:

1. The Devils want to keep Kovalchuk.
2. Martin Brodeur is not a given to keep playing much longer, and will be hired the second he retires to work in the Devils front office.
3. Kovalchuk would consider staying if the Devils would go out and get Semin to play with him.
4. Brodeur would agree to play one (possibly 2) years in Washington. Firming up their goaltending situation and making the Caps the HUGE favorite to win a Stanley Cup. Then he could return to work for the Devils, who would be in a much better situation.
5. Semin is a great player, but the Caps are not opposed to moving him for Brodeur. Interestingly, the Caps signed him to a very short deal.

I’ll be here, in the corner, dissolved in tears of laughter…

Texas should have stuck with Climie. Utterly baffling goalie choice.