Mark Messier - Fashion Plate And Man Of Many Hats

Yes, in my spare time I occasionally look at Mark Messier pictures on the internet. It's sad really.

(Via Tumblr - that's not my text on the picture)

The Backhander – Silfverberg’s Frightening Shot... Turris’ Frightening Stats

Another game the Senators should have lost on paper and another game Ottawa managed to steal two points from. Unbelievable. I was sure the Canadiens were going to halt the Sens four game win streak on Monday night but every time I think this Ottawa team is due for a letdown, they grind another one out and leave the fans celebrating on their way back to a parking lot of frozen cars. And while they get a goaltending hero every night – this time it was Ben Bishop with 44 saves – one of the unheralded players always seems to come through. On Saturday against the Leafs it was the struggling Colin Greening. Last night it was Peter Regin in the shootout who left Carey Price on his back, wildly swinging for a puck that was already behind him. He also clanged the post just before overtime ended. And before that it was Dave Dziurzynski stunning everyone in the building, including Price, by putting a laser beam into the Montreal net without a deflection or anyone screening the Montreal goalie. It was old-school hockey, coming down the wing and burying one. Dziurzynski is a complete surprise. He’s big, he’s fast, he had 7 hits in one game against the Rangers last week, and now he has 2 goals in just 6 games. He looks like an NHL hockey player despite not having any kind of pedigree. He kind of reminds me of a smaller Brian Boyle or one of those horses from the WHL who end up in places like Anaheim or Dallas. I really wonder what happens if he keeps playing this well and the Senators get some forwards back from injury. It would be tough to send this guy down, but you also don’t want to take out Kaspars Daugavins, who seems to be the player’s very own team mascot. It’s easy to see how much the rest of the players love the guy. When you get Sergei Gonchar laughing on the bench, you know you must have some kind of charm going for you. They lost some character with Zenon Konopka and Matt Carkner but Daugavins is pretty good on his own. The barking after a goal might be the best secret celebration the rest of the league hasn’t caught on to yet. Maybe that’s because he doesn’t get to do it very often....

..... Forgive me another Mark Messier story, but when you talk about a guy getting a bench going, you have to talk about this one. In the late Peter Gzowski’s 1982 book “The Game Of Our Lives”, which follows the young Edmonton Oilers around for the entirety of the 80-81 season, he tells a story about Messier sitting on the bench and starting his own chant, “Here we go Oilers, here we go”, over and over again, until the rest of the team started in with him. Now imagine an entire Oilers bench, in the middle of a National Hockey League game, chanting “Here we go Oilers, here we go...” like they were a bunch of beer guzzling, Canadian-tuxedo clad fans in the nosebleeds. That story still blows me away. I can’t exactly imagine Jonathan Toews or Sidney Crosby doing that, but you never know nowadays with the Harlem Shake craze taking over sports....

..... 2 points in the last 9 games for Kyle Turris is a tough stat to carry around, especially when you haven’t scored a goal since January 25th against Tampa Bay, a stretch of 16 games. There’s no problem with his skating or his hustle (nobody seems to be trying harder than Turris out there) but he’s finding life hard in the Jason Spezza role, as anyone would. I’m not saying he needs a “reset” like Greening had, but maybe a game on the second or third line to get away from the other team’s best defensemen would allow him a little more room out there. Seems like all he needs is one to go in, and maybe a change of linemates would do that for him. Paul Maclean always has the option of Regin in the middle if he wants to shake up Turris a little.... With that being said, who needs to shake up a team on a 5 game win streak? But they were badly outplayed by Montreal and eventually that will catch up to them. They need Turris to create offense. Not like I needed to tell you that.... There was a little bit of handwringing over Chris Neil’s penalty late in the second period which led to Andrei Markov’s tying goal. Not a great call by the ref’s but some fans gave it to Neil anyways. How quickly they forget he made the beauty cross-ice feed to Dziurzynski for the Sens first goal. Neil is always going to take penalties because he has to play that way. The ref’s are always watching him and make reputation calls all the time. He more than makes up for any bad penalties with the work he does the rest of the game. He was credited with 8 hits last night, twice the amount of anyone on either team. He’s having another great year....

..... Again, Jakob Silfverberg’s shot continues to amaze fans and horrify goaltenders. Smart move by Maclean to get him out first in the shootout. Price actually got his glove up in time but the shot was so hard and fast that the puck just barrelled over it. Maybe it was me but I thought Price looked a little spooked out by that. I know he’s a different type of player, but doesn’t watching Silfverberg remind you of when guys like Marian Hossa, Erik Karlsson and Martin Havlat started out in Ottawa? You would get these little glimpses of scary, scary skill from game to game and watch them slowly put it all together. That’s exactly what it’s like with Silver right now. It’s frightening to think of a power-play with Karlsson, Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad a few years from now. Hell, maybe even Alfie will still be out there, still playing keep-away on the half boards.

Black Aces All-Star Game Vintage

When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the All-Star Game - up to a point.

I'd get all cranked up on soda and stand glued to the spot during the player introductions, always the most glamourous part of the game. In the 80's the "glamour" consisted of bare lights, a rousing 80's keyboard anthem and miles of bad hockey hair. By the end of the first period I'd be in the basement pretending I was Wayne Gretzky and winging tennis balls off the washing machine, the game itself forgotten.

As a time capsule, here's the 1980 All-Star Game player introductions at the brand spanking new Joe Louis Arena in Motor City. Of note, this is Gretzky's first All-Star Game and Gordie Howe's last.



The Skills Competition was like every kid's dream to watch and remains better than the game itself. Here's the breakaway competition from 2002.



Let's go with the shooting accuracy comp in a random year - 1996 - which has all the big names you can think of, plus Brendan Shanahan as a Hartford Whaler being blown away by Mark Messier going 4 for 4.



The 1991 All-Star game may be the most memorable in the past 25 years. Held in Chicago Stadium during the start of the Gulf War, the anthem before the game was a complete madhouse and the roof almost came off the old building.



The following video showing highlights of that 1991 weekend is typical of the production values that the NHL employed at the time - full-on cornball. But there's still good stuff in here, particularly Phil Esposito letting off some kind of flash-bomb taped to the end of his stick during the old-timers game. And you thought Ovechkin's hat and glasses trick was flashy?



Of course, we have to end it with Owen Nolan's called shot against Dominik Hasekin 1997 (with glowing puck). This video shows his last two goals of the hat-trick with the big moment coming about 50 seconds in. Still one of the best things I've seen in a hockey game.



Hope everyone enjoys the All-Star weekend here in Ottawa for the first time.

"What Did You Say?"

Just one more reason Mark Messier is my favourite hockey player of all time ...

From Elliotte Friedman via Glenn Healey:

Had the note last week about teams not hitting Milan Lucic so he doesn't get angry. Glenn Healy was saying teams used to do that with Mark Messier. They totally avoided him, hoping it was one of the nights he didn't feel like killing anyone. "One night, he was off to a slow start, but the other coach taunted him from the bench," Healy said. "(Messier) stopped in the middle of play, looked at him and said, 'What did you say?' Meanwhile, we're playing four-on-five while he's staring down the guy. I think we won 8-2."

Back In The Day...

Back in the early part of the decade, Black Aces was a .ca address and was more of a traditional kind of hockey website, before I even knew what a blog really was. It was run by myself and my friend Simon and we kept it up for upwards of two years until the hosting fees became too big to handle. When I discovered the free service Blogger, I rebooted the Black Aces name a couple of years later and that's the site you see now.

For a peak at what that old site looked like, check out a 2004 archive right here courtesy of the Way Back Machine website.

It's a little crude and semi-pro looking but we "captured the spirit of the thing". Most of the articles seem to be working so you can check out the once popular "Classic Takes" section which is a compilation of some hilarious quotes from years past (these are also archived on the current site under the label "Classic Quotes". And you can probably tell that I was (and still am) a massive Mark Messier fan....

Saturday Notes

Now that Alex Picard is out of the lineup with a jammed wrist, call-up Brian Lee has a chance to show that he belongs in the Senators organization and to make management think twice about including him in a package for an established NHL power-play quarterback.

There is no doubt that the Senators have been disappointed in Lee this year after a poor training camp and an even worse stretch of games in the regular season that saw him get booted back to Bingo to get his game - and head - in shape.

After looking solid during his late season call-up last year, Lee seemed afraid of the puck and afraid of taking a hit in the new campaign and did nothing to stop the criticisms that Ottawa blew their 2005 draft where they chose Lee over the likes of Anze Kopitar, Marc Staal, the late Luc Bourdon, Ryan Parent and even Steve Downie.

Bryan Murray has since revamped his scouting staff after taking over from John Muckler and Brian Lee doesn't seem to fit the Murray mould. Not helping Lee is the fact that he only has 1 goal and 5 assists in 16 games with Bingo since being demoted. That's simply average and that's not going to get Lee a permanent spot in Ottawa.

I think that the team is already looking to the arrival of Erik Karlsson rather than waiting for Lee to suddenly transform into a saviour on the blueline. Lee is a player that the Senators might regret trading but he has some value right now.

It's up to Murray to decide if he wants to cash in on Lee now for some immediate help or be patient and play the waiting game.

I'm not saying it's a make or break game for Lee, but if he doesn't play well, he might not get a chance to do so in a Senators uniform again.

***

Also called up was Zack Smith, who has exceeded expectations and might be the most NHL-ready Senators prospect in Bingo if you listen to management. He leads the B-Sens with 9 goals and is 6th amongst AHL rookies in points. But the word is that Smith will only play if Shean Donovan is out with one of those ridiculous undisclosed upper-body injuries. If teams are allowed to get away without telling anyone what the injuries are, why do they even have to disclose if it's an upper or lower body injury?

Why can't they call an ankle sprain a concussion? If they are allowed to half-lie to the media and thus the fans, you might as well let them go all the way.

It's a joke.

***

I'm not sure if Luke Richardson is planning to shave off his team-bonding moustache now that he's been forced into retirement but is there anything more symbolic (and genuinely sad) than the idea of Richardson standing in front of a mirror shaving it off and knowing that he's crossed over to the other side?

He's had a great career and it would be especially nice if the Senators organization honoured him with a video presentation similar to what they did for Wade Redden at their next home game.

I know he was only with Ottawa for a year and bit but he's a homegrown player and it would be a classy move by the Senators.

To be honest, I'm getting the chills just thinking about it. But then again, I'm the guy who cried like a little boy when the Rangers retired Mark Messier's number. And when they brought him back from Vancouver. And when he started crying at Gretzky's Ranger retirement. Basically every time he has to try and get through a press conference.

Did I ever tell you that Mess is my favourite player of all-time?

***

Richardson was involved in a nasty confrontation while with the Leafs when Minnesota North Star Dino Ciccarelli was criminally charged after hitting Luke over the head with his stick in 1988.

One of my favourite quotes of all-time came from Dino describing his brief two hour stint in jail after being found guilty.

"The first thing I saw was a big fat cop eating a jelly donut. Then I stood around signing autographs for the other poor guys in there."

Check out a series I ran last year of Classic NHL Quotes over the years right here.

***

Sergei Samsonov scored the overtime winner for Carolina against Philadelphia last night but it was only his second goal of the season.

It's been a long time since Samsonov and Joe Thornton came into the league together with Boston after being taken only 7 picks apart in the 1997 draft. After Samsonov won the Calder trophy as best rookie while Thornton struggled to a 3 goal, 7 point performance, some were saying that Samsonov would turn out to be the real superstar.

Boston cashed in on Samsonov's potential at just the right time. As part of the package from Edmonton, they got the Oilers 2nd round choice who they used to pick Milan Lucic.

That might be one of the reasons (along with the Dustin Penner mistake) that Kevin Lowe was pushed out of hockey operations into the President' s role earlier this year.

***

Speaking of the Flyers, their throwback 3rd jersey's are the nicest in the league next to the Oilers and the Islanders vintage sweaters.

I really love the vintage all-white nameplates too.

Can't Say Enough About The Moose

The legendary Red Fisher pens a nice tribute to number 11.

"He was always a very emotional guy," Sather said. "I remember once, I was coaching a Canada Cup game and he hit some Russian guy ... and nearly tore the guy's face off. It was a great Gordie Howe elbow, but I don't think Gordie ever hit anybody that hard!"

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I once met Messier when the whole New York Ranger team came in to a restaurant I was working at in Ottawa around 2003. They all had dinner, including Glen Sather and even all the trainers and equipment staff. In fact, that's the table that Messier sat at - with the trainers.

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What awed me was after dinner when everyone was busy talking and laughing, Messier stood up to address the team. I've never seen a room fall so silent like that. And all he was doing was giving instructions on where to grab some muffins and desert back at the hotel! He said it was okay for everybody to stay and relax but the fact that they had a big game the next day against Ottawa, he suggested that everyone get a good night's sleep. Immediately, every player stood up and filed out.

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The respect for this guy in the room was palpable. When he talked, people listened. At even the slightest suggestion, people acted.

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I've never really been around an NHL dressing room, but this one brief encounter with "the leader" is something I'll never forget.

Hall Gets A Hell Of A Leader In Messier.

Mark Messier, my favourite player of all time, is going into the Hall Of Fame this coming Monday. The Associated Press gets his thoughts, among them his memories of winning the Cup in 1990 for Edmonton without best friend Wayne Gretzky.

"I never felt vindicated that we won without Wayne," Messier said. "If anything, I felt sad he wasn't there to share it with us after what we went through winning the first four. "

Unfortunately his son Lyon Messier is having a tough go of it in the OHL.

Daily Classic Quotes - Mark Messier Edition

I'll be posting some great hockey quotes (semi) daily for the rest of the summer. Many of these are taken from the previous incarnation of Black Aces which I ran from 2003 -2006. What better way than to start off with some famous quotes about my favourite all-time player, Mark Messier.


"Fuck off!"
- Jeremy Roenick of the Chicago Blackhawks screams this audibly after Mark Messier steamrolled him during game four of their playoff series in 1990. Messier single handedly won the game for the Oilers by scoring a hat-trick, an assist and breaking two sticks over Denis Savard and Doug Wilson as well as elbowing Dirk Graham in the jaw. He also took a stick in the throat from Wilson just seconds before scoring his third goal.


"That Messier! That Messier! He knocked three of our guys out of the game. Three! That was ...that was ... Amazing!"
-The late Bob Johnson, then coach of the Calgary Flames, comments on Edmonton Oiler Mark Messier injuring three of his players - Al MacInnis, Mike Eaves and Paul Reinhart - in one playoff game in the mid 1980's.


"Jimmy Carson is no longer with us because he couldn't stand the heat... He didn't like Messier always saying he'd beat the shit out of him if he didn't produce."
- Glen Sather explaining why winger Jimmy Carson walked out on the Oilers during the 89-90 season. Mark Messier captained the Oilers to the Stanley Cup at the end of that year.