Deadline Daze

January 14^th, 2008

For What it’s Worth: $67.92-The Lethbridge Hurricanes did enough at the WHL trade deadline.

The Western Hockey League’s trade deadline has come and gone. The Lethbridge Hurricanes were fairly quiet, making just one swap. The team added 20-year-old defenceman Jeff May from Prince Albert in exchange for two prospects and a 2008 2^nd round bantam pick (the ‘Bridge had an extra 2^nd rounder thanks to the Justin LeClerc deal with Kamloops before the season). While other teams were making some big splashes, the ‘Canes kept the water in their pool. And really, I’m okay with that.

The Hurricanes completed their big trade back in November, a 7-player swap with Portland. Coming east, were Colton Sceviour, Nick Hotson and Lucas Alexiuk. Sceviour’s proved to be streaky (he’s played 25 games in the ‘Bridge, held off the scoresheet in 14 of them, meaning he has 21 points in 11 other games). The 18-year-old is a plus-13 in his time with the ‘Canes, and will be around for at least another season. Hotson missed a month with an injury; however, the 20-year-old does have some offensive touch (he ended up as the ‘Hawks leading scorer last season) and size. Alexiuk is a depth defenceman, and at 18, he too will be around next season.

What’s nice for the ‘Canes, is the trio was acquired 3 months ago, allowing for some chemistry to develop. While making a deadline deal gives players less time to adjust to new surroundings.

Moose Jaw picked up Ty Wishart...ooh! Regina added JD Watt…ahh! Calgary brought in Brock Nixon…yippee! Spokane welcomes Justin McCrae…wow! Sure, all these teams think they’re better than they were before the deadline, but in the end, only one team will go to the Memorial Cup. The prices paid this year were high; it was really a sellers market. So for all the wheeling and dealing, just one club is truly going to be satisfied with the end result.

The Hurricanes pretty much stayed the course. There’s nothing to suggest this team can’t compete for a WHL title this season. They have enough scoring, one of the deepest blue-lines in the league and a stable goaltending tandem. A better power play would sure help things. The team was middle of the pack at the end of November: 9^th overall. Now the ‘Canes are 18^th in the Dub with the man advantage (conversely the penalty kill is improving, ranked 19^th heading into December, it’s now 14^th).

And if the ‘Canes come up short this spring, next year the organization will field another competitive team. Zach Boychuk, Dwight King, Sceviour, Carter Bancks, Jesse Craige, and Juha Metsola will lead a strong crop of 19-year-olds. The likes of Carter Ashton, Luca Sbisa and Cam Braes will come back for their second year in the league. Who knows who might return as overagers, but with the right trio of 20-year-olds, this roster is nearly complete.

Remember, Roy Stasiuk and company are committed to building a team that’s competitive on a yearly basis. In junior hockey it’s almost impossible. With the yearly turnover, teams have small windows of opportunity to win championships. The London Knights were unstoppable 3 years ago; now the OHL club is closer to missing the playoffs than it is to contending for top spot in its conference. It’s all about stability, building a list of players that can give a team a shot more often than not.

Certainly, making a lot of moves around the trade deadline will help a team win its share of headlines. But, championships banners are raised as the result of a long-term planning, executed 365 days a year.

Spare Change-Thoughts from a busy weekend watching sports.

FWIW $75.00-Win the turnover battle, win in the NFL playoffs.

Simply put, keep a hold of the football! New England, San Diego and the New York Giants all won the turnover battle in their conference semifinals this weekend (Patriots +2, Chargers +2, Giants +1) and they won their games.

Green Bay bucked the trend; overcoming two Ryan Grant fumbles in the first 5 minutes of the game against Seattle, and the Packers pasted the Seahawks by 22 points. Winning the turnover battle means little if you have no heart.

So book it, New England versus Green Bay in Super Bowl XLI*. (Remember the Baceda Kiss of Death, BKD for short. Consult the archives for more info).

FWIW: $99.90-American Idol promotion is bad for my brain.

It was bad enough watching Indianapolis lose in the NFL Conference Semis this weekend (yet another prediction up in smoke, although I did predict San Diego to win the Super Bowl before the season started…no I really did…ask Rob!), but who’s the advertising genius who came up with those American Idol promos? Seriously, how did this concept come about? It’s bad enough they were appallingly annoying. But (some other Canadian TeleVision network) ran them 78 times a game. Does (some other Canadian TeleVision network) really think NFL fans are the target audience they’re missing to watch some glorified karaoke?

And really, I think there should be more commercials during an NFL game. I love it when a team punts, then there’s a break, then the other team scores on it’s first play from scrimmage, then there’s a break, then there’s a kick-off, then there’s a break, then a play is run as the quarter ends, then there’s a break, then a guy gets hurt on second down, then there’s a break…

FWIW: $88.53-Bob Cole must retire… in there…he’s dangerous…he wants to score Harry!

I think when it comes to the “voice” of Hockey Night in Canada, either you love Bob Cole or you hate him. I really don’t have any animosity towards Cole, since I don’t know him. But, his voice is reaching a new level of shrillness that’s hard for a human to listen to, never mind a dog.

I really think Bob will go when Mats Sundin either calls it quits or is traded from Toronto (and I don’t mean retire…).

And when Bob retires you just know Peter Loubardias is taking his place.

FWIW: $71.90-Celtics kryptonite? Just Wiz on them.

In NBA action, Saturday night I watched Boston blow a fourth quarter lead to Washington, the Wizards eventually coming up with a 7 point win in D.C. The Wiz completely dominated the boards in an ugly street-fight of a game. Now, the C’s have lost two straight for the first time this season, blowing another 4^th quarter lead to Washington, dropping an 88-83 loss tonight. Gilbert Arenas? Who needs him? As for the Celtics, the defence is great (leading the NBA) but the offence is struggling (for them anyways) a bit. Ray Allen’s shooting just 41 per cent from the field, and why the hell does Kendrick Perkins need to touch the ball so much in the half-court offence? Quibbles for a 30-6 club.

That’s all for now kids…play safe!