Tag Hockey

The Curious Case of the Phoenix Coyotes

Danny Vinik 1 Comment

Photo Courtesy of AP

The Phoenix Coyotes ownership is in disarray. The management and coaching is a mess. The team has the lowest salary totals in the league. With all that being said, the Coyotes must be one of the worst teams in the league, right? Wrong! Phoenix currently sits at the 4th in the Western Conference, just five points behind the league-leading Chicago Blackhawks.   

So how are they doing so well while spending so little money? Time to go to the numbers.   

The Coyotes have just two players with more than ten goals. No player has 25 or more points. However, what Phoenix lacks in star power, it makes up for in consistency. Twelve players have double-digit points with nine of them having 17 or more points. Fourteen players average more than fifteen minutes on ice per game. Most importantly though is the Coyotes goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov ranks fourth in the NHL in GAA and is tied for third in save percentage. He leads the league in shutouts, is second behind Martin Broedur in wins, and is tied for second in games played. Bryzgalov has carried the Coyotes all year.   

Bryzgalov is making $4.26 million per year. That’s good for 16th in the league among goaltenders. How’s that for a steal.   

Shane Doan’s 24 points are the most on the team and his salary, $4.55 million, leads all forwards. Radim Vrbata has the second highest salary ($3 million) amongst forwards and his third on the team with 22 points. Matthew Lombardi has the third highest salary ($1.817 million) and the second most points (23). Continue reading “The Curious Case of the Phoenix Coyotes” →

Crazy NHL Contracts

Danny Vinik 3 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa to a TWELVE YEAR, $62.8 million deal today in what can only be classified as an idiotic contract. It’s not that Hossa is not a great player or that he does not deserve the deal. It’s the length of the contract.

Unlike the NFL and MLB, the NHL (and NBA) has a salary cap, meaning that each team can only spend to a certain, defined amount. For next season, the cap is $56.8 million, a $100,000 increase over the cap last season. Hossa’s contract is worth $5.233 million per year so that means that nearly 10% of the Blackhawks’ money is tied up in Hossa next season. Hossa is just one of twenty plus players that Chicago will have on its roster next season.

Now, that still leaves a large amount of money for Chicago to spend on the rest of their roster. Hossa is a terrific player and he will certainly help the Hawks next season, but next year is not the problem with the contract. Five years from now, what is the cap going to be? Continue reading “Crazy NHL Contracts” →

The Most Brutal Game In Sports

Danny Vinik 1 Comment

Want to know why hockey is the most brutal sport? Go watch a game seven in overtime and tell me you’ve ever experienced a more gut-wrenching, hear-pounding situation for a longer time. The Bruins-Hurricanes Game 7 last night ended regulation at 2-2 and headed to overtime where a next-goal-wins period ensued.

That is brutal. For every minute during that time, the teams fought for every loose puck, diving and throwing themselves, but nothing would go in. The fans stand and cheer the entire time, but at every turnover or bouncing puck, a silence falls over the arena at the chance of one team winning. Every shot draws shrieks from every fan in attendance and when a Bruins’ shot just missed, the place with fall back, cringing at a miss opportunity.

Now, in other sports there are certainly situations where this happens. Baseball has that 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth. Football has that final second 45-yard field goal or the Hail Mary bomb. Basketball has the game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left. Each one of those situations lasts at most for 1 minute. It is basically one gut-wrenching play to decide it all.

Hockey overtime is similar except that feeling lasts the entire time. From the drop of the puck in overtime until the game-winning goal, no one can relax for a moment. There aren’t even timeouts! It is 30 minutes of holding your breath and stomachs in knots. There is absolutely nothing tougher in sports to watch. Continue reading “The Most Brutal Game In Sports” →