Team Cohesion = Championships, Not Amount Spent

When free agency began there were a lot of teams with a lot of needs and as a result the early hours have seen plenty of shuffling around. It’s funny to see how quickly teams respond to players leaving, for instance there is the news that Dwayne Roloson is heading to Long Island and shortly thereafter Edmonton makes a deal to acquire Stanley Cup winning netminder Nikolai Khabibulin. Teams spend a lot of money trying to improve their rosters and to play a bit of cat and mouse with their rivals. There are even GMs who learn from other GMs how to circumvent the salary cap to get their man; last year Detroit signs the likes of Zetterberg to long term deals and low and behold the rival Blackhawks do the very same thing when they signed Marian Hossa to a 12 year deal. So does spending all of this money, playing mind games, etc. really result in better chances at winning the Stanley Cup? Ask the pre-salary cap Detroit Red Wings and the answer will be yes but that system has not lended itself to very much success otherwise. Consider the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers of the past few years; so much money spent on those considered to be big stars but yielded very little success compared to expectations.

A great example of what it takes the win is the current Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Sure they have the superstars in Malkin and Crosby but anyone who watched the playoffs knows their performances alone were not enough. Guys like Staal (a star perhaps in the making but not their yet), Kennedy, and Talbot played key roles in bringing the Penguins the title and clearly would not have won without them. Picking up a few pieces along the way (not to mention a timely coaching change) and the Penguins had the cohesion needed to take home the Cup. We will know more about the makeup of the teams come training camp but in the meantime if you’re keeping a close eye on your teams moves in free agency be looking at the whole picture. It’s not just about signing the big scorer or even a big time goalie; what you should look for is if your team is putting together a cohesive unit. Make sure there is a role for every superstar signed and look to see if every role that needs to be filled is done so and you don’t have a bunch of guys all signed to do the same thing. If there is a place for everyone the deals work, and if there isn’t Championships become a pipe dream.

NHL Standings Basement Battle

In the battle for futility on Long Island Tuesday night the Atlanta Thrashers defeated the New York Islanders 4-2. The game was actually pretty close essentially a one-goal game with a garbage empty-netter to close it out. And while this game perhaps shows that Atlanta is just a little better than the Islanders, the Isles do in fact have a brighter future and it’s not just because they will have a better chance at winning the draft lottery.

The Islanders’ future on the island is very much up in the air at the moment as they wait out the passing of the “lighthouse project” that will determine its long-term outlook. But for the moment let’s table that just for the sake of conversation and focus on other aspects of the two teams. What the Islanders have as an advantage over Atlanta is a rich history with great tradition. The Islanders won 4 straight Stanley Cup titles in the 1980s making them one of the premier hockey teams of the time and historically one of the greatest runs for a team in NHL history. While they have never quite reached that level since they have been competitive at times and their fan base is still pretty much intact. All the Islanders need to do is win again and their building will begin to fill up, fans will start having faith in their team again and there will be a buzz again on the island for their beloved hockey team.

Atlanta has an awful hockey history to accompany their mediocre present. The Atlanta Flames were not a viable team and ended up moving to Calgary after losing their fair share of games and money. Now they have a new team who has been mediocre at best in a city that couldn’t care less about hockey and barely supports their NFL team when it’s good. As the economy worsens the fate of the Thrashers in Atlanta is up in the air no matter how many games they win. So despite the score Tuesday night it is Islander fans who have reason to celebrate.