Mar 26, 2016
Thumbs to Stralman injury, NHL lottery system
TSN's Dave Hodge gives thumbs down to Tampa Bay defenceman Anton Stralman's injury, and thumbs down to the NHL for creating an incentive to lose with its draft lottery system that needs fixing.
By Dave Hodge
Injuries are part of the game. They aren’t an excuse for losing. Every team gets injuries. It’s all true, but at no time during an 82-game season will it seem that way to all 30 NHL clubs.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the latest with cause to wonder “why us?” after losing stalwart defenceman Anton Stralman with a broken leg. To recap, Steven Stamkos missed more than half of the 2013-14 season and the Sochi Olympics. Last season, Victor Hedman was out for 23 games and goalie Ben Bishop’s determination to play through an injury in last year’s Stanley Cup Final is a badge he’ll wear until he retires.
This season, the Bolts have withstood the loss of Ondrej Palat for 20 games and Tyler Johnson for 13 to sit atop the Atlantic Division. Stamkos is the only Tampa Bay player not to miss a game. You feel sorry for Tampa Bay until you realize that some teams have been hit harder with injury losses. A saving grace may be coach Jon Cooper’s fondness for dressing seven defencemen. He’s got six left, but more will be asked of all of them in Stralman’s absence.
So it’s “thumbs down” to the Stralman injury, just like all the others that are part of NHL life. They don’t quite even out. But it’s easier to believe that than to try to prove otherwise.
System Failure
If you’re a hockey fan in Canada and you’re following the remainder of the NHL’s regular season by turning the standings upside down - you know, to follow the “tank” wars - please understand what “tanking” really is.
For the most part, it is making sure that a 30th-place finish is achieved for the purpose of acquiring the best draft lottery odds, which will hopefully pay off with the number one pick.
There may be other, less rewarding, forms of “tanking” such as finishing a few spots lower than might otherwise be the case, because, why not? But basically, the “tanking” discussion revolves around last place.
As yet, no team is “tanking.” This will come as a surprise to those who believe the Maple Leafs have been “tanking” all season long, but with some recent wins aided by members of the Marlies, the Leafs have been doing a pretty bad job of it if that is their mission. True “tanking” is when a team does everything short of “throwing” a game in order to lose it. No team can be accused of that. Not yet, anyway, because unless it is willing to “throw” a bunch in a row, it’s too early for that.
Closer to the end of the schedule, if you want to sniff out a “tank” job, watch for funny lineups, phony injuries, questionable coaching moves and basically anything that would indicate a lack of desire to win a particular game.
The second-last night of the schedule - April 9th - might be for the “tank” sleuths. The Leafs are in New Jersey. If 30th place is still undecided, Lou Lamoriello will surely want to……win? Lose? The Devils will play their part against their former boss exactly…..how? Later, Edmonton plays at Vancouver, which could be known as a “double-tank.”
I don’t know if anybody will conspire to do anything, but it’s possible. “Thumbs down” and shame on the NHL for creating an incentive to lose with its draft lottery system that needs fixing, not tinkering.