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of something like that means a lot to me
TORONTO -- Ken Hitchcock has a theory on how to deal with his team not scoring a lot of goals. Charles Barkley Jersey . "Just not talk about it," he said. "Talk about something else." Thats the approach the Stanley Cup-winning coach is taking with his St. Louis Blues, who have gone through a mini scoring slump. Of course they still lead the Western Conference, which is based on large part on being one of the NHLs stingiest defensive teams. "Ive always believed, like a lot of coaches, if youre not scoring, talk about checking. If you check better, youre going to get more chances," Hitchcock said Monday at Air Canada Centre. "The structure of our game, were just going to weather the storm. The structure of our game has got to stay solid like it is right now, and then well weather it and well come out on the other side fine." An 82-game regular season is a totally different animal than the Olympics, but a similar philosophy guided Team Canada to gold. Worries about a lack of offence from star forwards -- at least externally -- lasted well into the playoff round, but those were quieted by dominant play on the puck. "Its about controlling the hockey game. And you dont control the hockey game with offence, you control it with checking," said Hitchcock, who was one of Mike Babcocks assistants in Sochi. "We were tied or leading by one goal -- we werent concerned with the way we were playing that we werent scoring. It doesnt matter if youre leading 5-4 going into the third period or 1-0 as long as you have the lead youre in good shape." Like with Canada, Hitchcock said he feels comfortable seeing the Blues checking well because it means theyre "committed to the right things." One of those things hes proud of is that for a couple of games in a row St. Louis has displayed a high work standard. To Hitchcock, thats a bigger deal -- the way the Blues play -- than having an offence thats always rolling or a power play thats constantly clicking at a high rate. As far as special teams go, hes more concerned about the penalty kill and what that could mean come playoff time. "Ive seen a lot of (teams) who have had bad power plays do really well in the playoffs, but Ive never seen any team play worth a damn if you cant kill penalties," Hitchcock said. "Its more on can you kill the penalty at the right time because you can live with poor power plays and still win hockey games. But you cant survive if you cant kill penalties because your whole game falls apart, youre nervous, youre uptight, you panic and weve got to be great killing penalties." That would also follow Canadas blueprint. The gold-medal-winning Canadians converted on just 16.67 per cent of their power plays in six games, middle of the pack in the tournament, yet led the Olympics with a 93.75 per cent penalty-killing rate, giving up one goal on 16 chances. Hitchcock, though, must guide the Blues through choppier waters than Canada endured at the Olympics. Sixteen playoff victories are required to win the Stanley Cup, and most of those wont be by large margins. Perhaps thats one way the Blues balance plays in their favour. The have no one player in the top 35 in the league in scoring, but 10 with at least 30 points, led by Alex Steen and T.J. Oshies 54. St. Louis isnt built on scoring, which means they could be built to withstand droughts like this. "Youre going to go through stages where youre not scoring, and youre still going to have to win hockey games," Hitchcock said. "If youve got to win for a week or 10 days, youve got to win 1-0, 2-1, youve got to do it until you get back engaged where youre going to score again." Until then, the Blues are happy to talk about -- and execute on -- checking well and frustrating opponents in the process. Chris Webber Jersey .Carla Fontes hadnt cut her hair since intermediate school, but her coach at Waiakea High School, Stan Haraguchi, thought the locks flowing below her waist were interfering with the sport. Al Horford Jersey . If one fighter gases, he usually gets beat up pretty bad from that point on.BROSSARD, Que. -- Balancing the defence and making room for younger leaders marked the opening day of NHL free agency for the Montreal Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin acquired defenceman Tom Gilbert and re-signed rearguard Mike Weaver on Tuesday to fix the right-hand-left-hand balance at the blue-line, along with inking centre Manny Malhotra to add a veteran faceoff ace and penalty killer for the fourth line. He also shocked many fans by trading defenceman Josh Gorges, an alternate captain, to Buffalo and then letting captain Brian Gionta go to the Sabres as a free agent. Bergevin had said after the Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference final that the teams leadership had shifted to younger players like P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Carey Price and Brandan Gallagher. Seeing off Gorges and Gionta made it official. "We felt that with our performance during the playoffs, our young core was ready to take a bigger role when it comes to leadership," said Bergevin, who refused to speculate on who the next captain may be. "Eventually you need to give your young players a chance to take over that role." Bergevin may have other moves planned, but his next task will be signing Subban, the 2013 Norris Trophy winner as the leagues top defenceman who is now a restricted free agent. Subban is expected to ink a long-term deal for top dollars. But the clubs main goal was to rearrange the defence. The addition of Gilbert will allow left-shooting Alexei Emelin to move to the left side where he will likely be more effective, while Weaver will probably play right defence in a pairing with one of the teams young prospects like Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi or Greg Pateryn. That would allow coach Michel Therrien to pair his two top rearguards, Subban and Andrei Markov. "Were more balanced now," said Bergevin. The parting with Gorges was awkward. News leaked out last week that the veteran was not only on the block, but had refused to waive his no-trade clause to complete a deal with the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Gorges added a couple of teams to the list of acceptable destinations, and was sent just before free agency opened to Buffalo for a 2016 second round draft pick. Bergevin was not pleased with how it unfolded. "It was difficult, hes a very good person," he said. "The fact the information got out was disappointing for us and for him. "No player should have to go through that. It was stressful for him and his family. Thats why I dont talk about trades in public. You see what happened. I have no idea where it came out from, but I can guarantee it did not come from the Montreal Canadiens organization." Gorges said he was shocked by the deal. A Canadien since 2006, he was seen as a heart and soul defenceman and a leader who was always willing to sacrifice his body to help the team. The Kelowna, B.C. native said he couldnt bring himself to play against Montreal in a Toronto (or Boston) jersey, and was relieved to go to a young, rebuilding squad in Buffalo. "Its been a tough couple of days and now things are looking bright again," Gorges said on a conference call. "You know where youre going and thats a good feeling." Bergevin was looking to movve Gorges contract, which had been signed with the previous management and has another four seasons at US$3. Julius Erving Jersey. 9 million per year. He reportedly made a bid to keep Gionta, but at a much reduced salary from the $5 million the right winger earned in each of the least seasons. The Rochester, N.Y. native ended up signing with Buffalo for three years at $4.2 million per season. "Youre losing great people," said Bergevin. "Sometimes you make decisions that are not popular. But Im not here to be popular, Im here to make decisions." On Monday, he also traded veteran centre Daniel Briere to Colorado for right winger P.A. Parenteau. It still left Montreal short a right winger, but Bergevin said the spot on the second or third line will likely be taken a by a young player, possibly a newcomer like Jakob de la Rose, Sven Andrighetto or Jiri Sekac. The much-sought after Sekac, a six-foot 175 pound Czech, inked a two-year, two-way deal with Montreal after reportedly talking to more than 15 NHL teams. "Hes a kid that has top-three line skill that can help at some point in the future," said Bergevin. "I wont be able to tell you until hes here at camp and he shows us what he can do. We felt it was a calculated risk to bring him to Montreal." Gilbert, an unrestricted free agent, signed a two-year deal worth $2.8 million. The 31-year-old, who was bought out of the final two years of a contract with Minnesota in 2012, played for Florida on a one-year deal last season. He had three goals and 25 assists in 73 games. "For me, a lot of it has to do with skating and getting the puck and making that first pass," said Gilbert, who had hoped to sign with Montreal last year but couldnt get a deal. Instead, he saw his Panthers teammate Weaver get traded to the Canadiens on March 4 and earn a new one-year $1.75 million contract by helping them to reach the conference final. Now the two are together again. "He sent me a text asking me why Im chasing him around," Gilbert joked. "Hes going to fit in great with the team," Weaver said of Gilbert. "Hopefully he cuts his hair a bit shorter, but the way he plays, I notice, is almost similar to what we do. Short little passes into the zone to break out. "Hes going to bring a wealth of knowledge and experience." Malhotra signed a one-year deal worth $850,000. The 34-year-old centre, who has come back from a career-threatening eye injury suffered in 2011, had seven goals and six assists in 69 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. While he still has reduced vision in his left eye, Malhotra was praised for his leadership and his ability to win faceoffs. He probably could have got more money on the open market, but wanted to play for a contender. "At this stage of my career, the most important thing for me is winning," he said. "You look at the season the Canadiens had last year and the way theyve been growing as a team and the pieces they have in place, to be able to be part of something like that means a lot to me, rather than trying to chase a few extra dollars in a place where I probably wouldnt be as happy hockey-wise. "To say its a great hockey market is a gross understatement. Im really looking forward to being a part of it." ' ' '
- Created: Dec 11 '19
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