| | Fire Pat Burns? Please. The Boston Bruins coach is one of best in the business, and just discussing the possibility seems a bit silly. But it has come up of late. Also, Florida gets serious about winning, and the NHL is in a bit of an identity crisis about toughness.
High pressure: Pat Burns
There have been rumors that Pat Burns' job may be in jeopardy because the Bruins have been stumbling, going winless in their last seven games. But it would be a crying shame if the Bruins fired Burns.
Burns is one of the league's top coaches. He is straight with the players, who know what he expects. Burns has done well coaching a team without much talent. General manager Harry Sinden and assistant GM Mike O'Connell would be the first to say that. They have been obvious about their stands on finances and how they put their team together.
Burns was an excellent fit for them. He didn't suddenly become stupid. This isn't the time to blame Burns and say the Bruins should hire a new coach. That would be a major disaster. They need to stay with Burns and completely take the pressure off him. He shouldn't be blowing in the wind and wondering what his situation is.
Obviously, Jason Allison's wrist injury has had a major effect on their ability to score goals. If the Bruins lose their best offensive player for an extended period, the pressure will be on Sinden and O'Connell to make a move like what Panthers GM Bryan Murray did in Florida. They will need help, or people will continue talking about Burns' job.
Low pressure: Florida and Mike Vernon
Picking up Mike Vernon was a great move for Florida. They obviously were backed into a corner. They had Sean Burke but traded him away to Phoenix, more than likely for financial reasons. Plus, Burke wanted to be a No. 1 goalie, and Trevor Kidd was playing terrific.
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MORE ON VERNON TRADE
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Sending Vernon to Florida made Steve Shields the clear No. 1 goalie in San Jose. Shields has been excellent and has patiently waited his turn. As a longtime No. 2 goalie, he studied two of the best in recent history, Vernon and Dominik Hasek. The Sharks decided that the time was now for Shields.
There will be some skepticism about Shields, but I don't blame the Sharks for the move. Plus, they wanted more grit in their lineup, and got it with the addition of Todd Harvey. When healthy, Harvey will give the Sharks their money's worth. He could become the type of player that coach Darryl Sutter will love. As for the Rangers, the third party in the trade, Radek Dvorak has skills, which the Rangers certainly need. Hopefully, he can fit in, so the Rangers can form two solid scoring lines.
Overall winner: With getting Vernon, the Panthers filled the most pressing need and came out on the top end of the trade.
-- Brian Engblom
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Then Kidd suffered a shoulder injury. Nothing against Mikhail Shtalenkov, who has had a solid season both in Phoenix and Florida. But it's tough for a player who has been traded three times in the last two years. The Panthers realized they were on high alert, waiting to see what would happen with Kidd. Even if he doesn't need surgery, Kidd's return still appears questionable. If he does return, the chances of him being the same goalie he had been this season remains slim.
The Panthers, a team on the rise and full of confidence, were looking to the front office for help. Murray and team president Bill Torrey are savvy hockey men who have been around the game a long time. There was talk about possibly acquiring Garth Snow, but getting Vernon was even better, the best possible move for the Panthers.
Looking at the possible goaltenders around the league who could fill the Panthers' needs, it was tough to pull off a deal without selling the farm. But Murray gave the Panthers what they needed, a two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie and former Conn Smythe Award winner. That's all you can ask of your team's management. Now the onus is back on the players to keep playing at a high level.
High pressure: NHL and toughness
There is an ongoing controversy about where the NHL is headed in regards to fighting and toughness. Toronto coach Pat Quinn stirred up the debate again after watching his team duke it out with Buffalo over the weekend and Philadelphia within the last month.
Quinn was really upset with Flyers coach Roger Neilson, thinking Philadelphia was gooning it up. The coach was wondering what to do when the league seems to be heading away from fighting and more toward an emphasis on skill. It's not that the Leafs, with players like Tie Domi and Kris King, aren't tough. But when players try to intimidate and pick fights, it reverts to 1970s hockey, which was a different ballgame.
In the '70s, there were constant brawls that were ridiculous. The game was cleaned up long ago, but there is still that pugilistic element. While there are no longer bench-clearing brawls, sometimes the game starts looking like '70s hockey again, which is what Quinn was referring to. That style of hockey puts all teams, not just Toronto, at a crossroads about the right mix of players. How many enforcers does a team need? That's important for managements to know when they are trying to construct a winning formula. With budgets the way they are, it's tough to know how much to spend in which direction.
Will the league let the players police themselves? Several GMs want the game to rest in the players' hands. Vancouver GM Brian Burke speaks openly about keeping things in the players' hands. Like many GMs, he has never given the impression he wants to ban fighting by any means.
Meanwhile, Dallas GM Bob Gainey has an interesting point of view. Because the game has changed so much, he wonders why people assume going back to the old days will work like it did before. It's a good point. In other words, let's continue to change and move toward getting rid of fighting.
The more I think about what Gainey said, he may be right. Players don't have the same mentality they had before. I think we are getting closer to no fighting than ever before. I've always said fighting is part of the game. But there is more pressure on the league than ever in regard to suspensions. The league is supposed to police the game, but the policing has become more difficult.
Should the league ban fighting? It will be interesting to see what develops this year and during talks over the summer.
Brian Engblom is a hockey analyst for ESPN, and he played 11 seasons in the NHL. | |
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