Hockey Canada snubs Savard again

by James Mirtle on Jul 2, 2009 1:35 PM CDT in 2010 Olympics Comment 50 comments

More photos » Winslow Townson - AP

Hockey Canada announced on Thursday the roster of 46 players that will attend Canada’s National Men’s Team orientation camp from August 24-27 in Calgary. These 46 players have been identified as candidates for upcoming international events in the 2009-10 season: the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and 2010 IIHF World Championship.

>> press release

Here was the team I put together back in February as part of a one-year preview, picks that likely have changed a little given players' performance in the postseason (Staal and Ward from the 'Canes come to mind). Below is the list of camp invitees, with my team selections marked in bold:

Goaltenders (5)
Martin Brodeur (Montreal, Que./New Jersey, NHL)
Marc-Andre Fleury (Sorel, Que./Pittsburgh, NHL)
Roberto Luongo (Montreal, Que./Vancouver, NHL)
Steve Mason (Oakville, Ont./Columbus, NHL)
Cam Ward (Sherwood Park, Alta./Carolina, NHL)

Defencemen (16)
Francois Beauchemin (Sorel, Que./Anaheim, NHL)
Jay Bouwmeester (Edmonton, Alta./Calgary, NHL)
Dan Boyle (Ottawa, Ont./San Jose, NHL)
Brent Burns (Ajax, Ont./Minnesota, NHL)
Drew Doughty (London, Ont./Los Angeles, NHL)
Mike Green (Calgary, Alta./Washington, NHL)
Dan Hamhuis (Smithers, B.C./Nashville, NHL)
Duncan Keith (Penticton, B.C./Chicago, NHL)
Scott Niedermayer (Cranbrook, B.C./Anaheim, NHL)
Dion Phaneuf (Edmonton, Alta./Calgary, NHL)
Chris Pronger (Dryden, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL)
Robyn Regehr (Rosthern, Sask./Calgary, NHL)
Stephane Robidas (Sherbrooke, Que./Dallas, NHL)
Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, B.C./Chicago, NHL)
Marc Staal (Thunder Bay, Ont./N.Y. Rangers, NHL)
Shea Weber (Sicamous, B.C./Nashville, NHL)

Forwards (25)
Jeff Carter (London, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL)
Dan Cleary (Carbonear, N.L./Detroit, NHL)
Sidney Crosby (Cole Harbour, N.S./Pittsburgh, NHL)
Shane Doan (Halkirk, Alta./Phoenix, NHL)
Simon Gagne (Ste-Foy, Que./Philadelphia, NHL)
Ryan Getzlaf (Regina, Sask./Anaheim, NHL)
Dany Heatley (Calgary, Alta./Ottawa, NHL)
Jarome Iginla (St. Albert, Alta./Calgary, NHL)
Vincent Lecavalier (Île-Bizard, Que./Tampa Bay, NHL)
Milan Lucic (Vancouver, B.C./Boston, NHL)
Patrick Marleau (Aneroid, Sask./San Jose, NHL)
Andy McDonald (Strathroy, Ont./St. Louis, NHL)
Brenden Morrow (Carlyle, Sask./Dallas, NHL)
Rick Nash (Brampton, Ont./Columbus, NHL)
Corey Perry (Peterborough, Ont./Anaheim, NHL)
Mike Richards (Kenora, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL)
Derek Roy (Rockland, Ont./Buffalo, NHL)
Joe Sakic (Burnaby, B.C./Colorado, NHL)
Patrick Sharp (Thunder Bay, Ont./Chicago, NHL)
Ryan Smyth (Banff, Alta./Colorado, NHL)
Martin St. Louis (Laval, Que./Tampa Bay, NHL)
Eric Staal (Thunder Bay, Ont./Carolina, NHL)
Jordan Staal (Thunder Bay, Ont./Pittsburgh, NHL)
Joe Thornton (St. Thomas, Ont./San Jose, NHL)
Jonathan Toews (Winnipeg, Man./Chicago, NHL)

Noteworthy omissions: Marc Savard

This is obviously a very stacked lineup, but I think where Canada's erred in the past is by ignoring some of its key offensive weapons in an effort to add the Rob Zamuners of the hockey world. It's a myth that you need fourth-line pluggers in a best-on-best tournament – you need dynamic, all-around players, the best scorers, passers and skaters in the world, and Marc Savard easily qualifies.

I'm not saying he should be a lock to make the team, but not even inviting him to the selection camp stinks to high heaven. Only five players have scored more points in the NHL than Savard postlockout – Ovechkin, Crosby, Thornton, Datsyuk and Heatley – and he was the offensive leader of the NHL's best team this past season. He's also become a much more well rounded player the past few years, unlike someone like Jason Spezza, who continues to commit defensive blunders in big games.

Canada's the only country that would even think of leaving Savard off its roster, even as a second-unit power play specialist, and I think it's a mistake.

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Comments

Let’s see if we can make him a naturalized American before the Games. There’s no reason Andy McDonald, for example, should be on that list ahead of Savard.

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by Dirk Hoag on Jul 2, 2009 1:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

We’ve got time to get him on the accelerated schedule for exceptional talents. He’d be a great fit with the young forwards potentially on the roster, too. :)

"A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with." -- Tennessee Williams

by Baroque on Jul 2, 2009 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only things I can think of that make McDonald more desirable than Savard are that McDonald has a Cup and seems to be a player that is more amenable to a move to the wing. I never though Savard was the kind of guy that could still be effective on the wing, which is what Canada needs with the depth of Cs they have. Either you have to be one of the best 4 Canadian Cs (Savard isn’t) or you have to be able to move to the wing.

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 6:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dump Heatley. Add Savard. My Team Canada does not include Dany Heatley.

by hockeycountry on Jul 2, 2009 2:14 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

My Canada doesn’t include Dany Heatley.

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by PPP on Jul 2, 2009 2:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

We don’t want him in America either.

by Afino on Jul 2, 2009 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Deport him to Germany!

Problem solved.

"A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with." -- Tennessee Williams

by Baroque on Jul 2, 2009 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Danny Heatley’s Canada doesn’t include Ottawa. (or Edmonton for that matter).

by yrmom on Jul 2, 2009 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would love to see Heatley dropped from Canada 2010 but unless he sits out next year I don’t see it happening.

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 6:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Aaahhh, the joy of a slow day at work! A few things I noticed digging into hometowns of the invitees.

The 5 goalies are all from big metropolitan areas. Are smalltown goalies somehow more slowed down in their development than smalltown D or forwards? I’d be curious to see the whole list of nhl goalies.

BC has 7 invitees, 5 of them defensemen! and those aren’t bruising guys… they are all mobile, point scoring defensemen. Also, except for Seabrook who is from the far & wide Vancouver suburbs, all the others are from smalltowns.

3 players isn’t bad for Saskatchewan, especially since MB & NS who have similar population levels only have one player each.

by AwkwardMoment on Jul 2, 2009 2:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Both Miller and Tim Thomas on the American side are both from highly populated* Michigan (East Lansing and Flint, respectively)

insert snicker about “not anymore” here

by Afino on Jul 2, 2009 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

•insert snicker about "not anymore" here

Typical.

"A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with." -- Tennessee Williams

by Baroque on Jul 2, 2009 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ahem

That’s 4 players from Saskatchewan: Regehr, Morrow, Getzlaf, and Marleau.

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by saskhab on Jul 3, 2009 12:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

To play devil’s advocate: Maybe Canada figures they don’t need Savard down the middle with the likes of Crosby, Getzlaf, Lecavalier, Thornton, E. Staal, Richards, Carter.

And I don’t think that Savard’s game translates well to the wing, and as far as being a center; Crosby, Getzlaf, Lecavalier and Richards could very well be the top 4 and are all arguably more skilled and bring more to the table than Savard.

All that said, leaving Savard off the training camp is a very glaring omission. I think he deserves at least the chance, especially if a guy like Andy McDonald is there.

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by Hooks Orpik on Jul 2, 2009 2:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m with you Hooks, you know how I feel about erring on the side of being overinclusive in these tryout camps. You must have read what I wrote up above. ;)

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 6:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are 12 centres on that list (quick count), and there’s an argument to be made that Savard is among the best dozen or so centres in the entire league, regardless of nationality (possibly a weak argument). Still, bare minimum he deserves an invitation, if not serious consideration.

Too bad, the guy just seems to drift under people’s radar for some reason. I have no idea why this is the case. I guess Cherry’s not touting him loudly enough.

by ChicoMaki on Jul 2, 2009 3:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This is getting ridiculous

Savard must have ticked off the hockey establishment somehow. It was bad enough leaving him off last time – and then getting shut out by Switzerland and losing the tournament because they couldn’t score. But have they learned nothing?

It’s not just poor McDonald either, although he’s glaring. Savard should also be an easy choice over J. Staal, Cleary, Sharp or Sakic (nothing against those guys) and an arguable choice over several others (e.g. Smythe).

It’s got to be personal.

I've been looking at the sky

by Back In Black on Jul 2, 2009 3:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It certainly seems that way.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jul 2, 2009 4:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have heard rumblings that Savard is a bit of a prima donna but he’s never played for my team so I never looked into it. Are these rumors more pervasive in Canada?

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 6:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

His ending in Calgary wasn’t all that pleasant. His conflict with the coach (Greg Gilbert) also got the coach fired. That usually doesn’t play well with other management types.

That said, I’d rather see Savard there than some puke like Corey Perry.

by Resolute on Jul 3, 2009 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

Well, at least Spezza wasn’t invited.

by wlittle on Jul 2, 2009 3:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Spezza was only the top scoring centerman in the World Championships six weeks ago (tied with Stamkos).

Why don’t we all keep gushing about Savard and his 5’10" frame’s 90 goals since the lockout, compared to 6’3" Spezza’s 119 goals.

Toss in Savard’s playmaking abilities, and his 359 Pts in 320 games since the lockout still don’t impress me as much as Spezza’s 342 Pts in 293 games.

The extra 27 GP for Savard provided him with +17 Pts, yet -29 Goals. Gotta love those secondary assists.

Look, Savard is a huge snub, but is Spezza’s exclusion any worse?

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 5:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The extra 27 GP for Savard provided him with +17 Pts, yet -29 Goals. Gotta love those secondary assists.

NOT a valid logical conclusion. Those extra 46 points could be primary or secondary A’s.

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 6:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Those extra 46 Pts?

It is an extra 17 Pts….in an extra 27 games.

Sure they could be primary or secondary in both cases, but the valid logical conclusuion I made was that Spezza has more PPG, more Goals, and many more GPG. Both guys are considered playmakers first, but Spezza is good for 30 goals on top of his secondary and primary assists.

Savard is more responsable defensively, yet can’t score. Spezza is a defensive liability, but is well-rounded enough to score. Both guys have their pluses and minuses.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 6:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not getting into the merits of Spezza. The 46 points are because he had 29 fewer goals, but he 17 more points. Add that together and he must have …. carry the one… 46 more assists. You just don’t know if they are primary or secondary.

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 7:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

carry the one… 46 more assists

Funny, that’s not what you wrote earlier.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

So Savard had 46 extra assists in 27 extra games played, over four seasons.

Malkin had 24 extra assists in 3 extra games over this season, yet Ovechkin ran away with the Hart.

For all I know, Spezza had more secondaries than Savard. You assumed my conclusion was based upon that, when I was really pointing out that goals should be given more weight than any tyoe of assist.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was really pointing out that goals should be given more weight than any tyoe of assist.

Funny, that’s not what you wrote earlier.

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 7:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was if you look at everything that came before the five words that you chose to cherry pick.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is exactly what I wrote earlier

Yeah, Spezza was only the top scoring centerman in the World Championships six weeks ago (tied with Stamkos).

Why don’t we all keep gushing about Savard and his 5’10" frame’s 90 goals since the lockout, compared to 6’3" Spezza’s 119 goals.

Toss in Savard’s playmaking abilities, and his 359 Pts in 320 games since the lockout still don’t impress me as much as Spezza’s 342 Pts in 293 games.

The extra 27 GP for Savard provided him with +17 Pts, yet -29 Goals.

Then followed it up with some snark about how assists can often be secondary, and therefore less important than goals. I’m sure you agreed with me when Ovie was taking home the Hart for that very reason.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your “coverage” of my initial comment is about as fair and balanced as FoxNews’ coverage of an Obama speech, when they pick out five words and focus their entire rant on them, while ignoring the bulk of the message.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your final comment about the secondary assists was meant to take away from Savard’s accomplishments. I do agree that goals are more valuable assists, and I would have agreed with you had you said that. But you tried to knock a player to make Spezza look better, which I disagree with. I think Ovechkin should be MVP, but not because Malkin got secondary assists. I think AO would have caught Malkin if he played the games he missed; I think when Malkin isn’t on the score sheet his is invisible, whereas AO is dangerous even when he doesn’t score; and I think playing behind Crosby really really helps and AO doesn’t have any such protection in the lineup.

by Fehr and Balanced on Jul 2, 2009 8:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

My comment about secondary assists was meant simply to strengthen my point about goals being worth more than any type of assist. If you take away all secondary assists from both Spezza and Savard, then Spezza’s stats look better, and they deserve to look better. He doesn’t need my help in that department, especially when my opinion of secondary assists merely echoes that of a couple of very reliable sources.

Why would it offend you so much if my initial post had indeed been designed to trash Savard? Nevermind that it was merely a response to wlittle’s comment that clearly meant to knock a player (Spezza), You have taken the 5 words that were thrown in as an attempt at harmless snark, and turned this into a debate about how mean I am to poor Marc Savard.

I have already granted you that Spezza could easily have more secondary assists since the lockout, so can we just leave it at that?

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 9:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let me quote Down Goes Brown:

“Jason Spezza was not invited to Team Canada’s camp. He wouldn’t have gone anyways, it’s being held in a defensive zone.”

by Afino on Jul 2, 2009 6:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sweet

+1 for you and +1 for DGB.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 6:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Snark aside

Does anyone have any numbers to back up the claim that Spezza is less deserving than Savard?

Keep in mind, I’m not a huge fan of the +/-, especially in a “best-on-best” tournament where Spezza will be bailed out by the best defence in the world.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 6:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

For one, Savard’s done more with less. Spezza has put up his numbers while playing with Alfredsson and Heatley, and hasn’t shown hardly any progression defensively.

Savard’s more of a leader and hasn’t been invited to any recent Team Canada camps that I can recall. Sure, Spezza was snubbed, but he’s been invited before.

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by James Mirtle on Jul 2, 2009 7:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The fact that he’s been invited before shouldn’t be held against him. His international experience, including very recent, should work in his favour.

In 2006, I was up in arms about Savard being snubbed. His exclusion this year is almost as frustrating, but the truth is that neither he nor Spezza would be able to unseat Crosby, Getzlaf, Lecavalier and Staal, so who needs them as wingers?

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Doesn’t that apply to McDonald? Why invite him over Savard?

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by James Mirtle on Jul 2, 2009 9:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You’ll never hear me defend McDonald’s selection. Savard should easily have been named ahead of him. And maybe even ahead of Spezza.

My only point here today was that Spezza is at least almost as worthy as Savard. The focus of the article is completely justified, though mentioning how bad Spezza is seemed unnecessary to me.

After all, there were plenty of guys, like McDonald, who you could have cited as not being as well-rounded. Guys who actually made the list. I’m sorry if my defense of Spezza has offended you and your readers. I thought I had already made it clear that Savard was indeed snubbed.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 9:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you want some real criticism of Spezza, that ain’t it. That there is a factual statement that applies to the situation.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jul 2, 2009 9:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I do not dispute the fact that he doesn’t play defence. I merely question why he was even brought up, and since he was, tried to defend his well-roundedness as a goal scorer to balance Savard’s well-roundedness as a defensive forward.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 9:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, last year Spezza had 73 points and Savard had 88. That’s kind of a difference right there.

Spezza also plays with established, all-world wingers while Savard is helping youngsters turn into stars. And Spezza really is an habitual defensive liability whose team has sunk like a stone over the past season and a half.

But yeah, when you look at it, Spezza really should be at camp, too. The hockey establishment insists, as James pointed out, on making sure it has plenty of Rob Zamuners even if it means resorting to defencemen in the shootout. And it plays favourites – Jordan Staal scored 9 points in 24 playoff games while Savard scored 13 in 11, but the establishment loves Staal.

And in 2006, four of the top six Canadian scorers got to watch on TV as our team couldn’t put the puck in the net.

I've been looking at the sky

by Back In Black on Jul 2, 2009 7:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good point about the quality of teammates, BiB, James

Spezza has enjoyed being propped up by two amazing teammates, helping to boost his offensive totals.

The same, however, could be said about Savard’s defensive numbers, playing with Chara and Tim Thomas. It’s not as if Savard has always put up a 25 (I feel dirty for citing that stat), to go along with his 90 points. In fact, was his defence anything to write home about in 2008 with those same teammates?

Spezza may be one of the worst defensive forwards out there, but in a tournament such as this, with Bouwmeester, Regehr, Pronger, Niedermayer and Keith backing him up, Spezza’s deficiencies will be less pronounced. His bigger size has not produced more hits, but playing against the Swiss and Norwegian defence, I don’t see anyone being able to move him off the puck. The ice surface is NHL size, so smaller, quicker guys are not really as important this time around.

by TD O'Dell on Jul 2, 2009 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not a shocking omission or anything, but I’m a bit surprised that Braydon Coburn wasn’t among their 16 d-men.

by Make a play Whitner on Jul 2, 2009 6:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Cleary

I don’t know of a place called Carboneau in NFLD, I’m pretty sure he’s from my dad’s hometown of Carbonear.

"Life is just a place where we spend time between games. Hockey is where we live, where we can best meet and overcome pain and wrong and death." - Fred Shero

by Karina on Jul 2, 2009 8:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

James, two points of contention:

1. It seems like there’s something going on the scenes with Savard. His history with Hockey Canada (which is obviously a selection criteria) is non-existent. There’s two possible reasons for this; either he’s not on Team Canada’s radar (unlikely) or they’ve courted him in the past and he’s turned them down (for whatever reason).

2. To me, the team you’ve selected is devoid of any roles. I agree with you that the Rob Zaumner’s of the world need not be part of Team Canada, but I still believe giving players very specific jobs is important.

Take a player like Dany Heatley. He is maybe the best one shot scorer in the NHL, but his range of effectiveness is unbelievably small. Get him in the slot alone and get him the puck, Heatley is going to score about 8/10 times, but he’s pretty useless on the remaining 100 ft of ice. How effective is Dany Heatley going to be when playing 8 minutes a night?

We need to look at the ice time breakdown on Team Canada. Mike Keenan explained it well back in ‘87 when he sat down team Canada and explained to them what was going to happen. Wayne Gretzky he explained was the best player and was going to play about 20 minutes a night, leaving a staggered and lesser ice time progression for the rest of the players. In other words, if you’re going to have a Dany Heatley on the team, he’s going to have to play the first or second line if at all.

Iginla – Crosby – Nash (18-22 minutes)
Carter – Getzlaf – Heatley (15-18 minutes)
Marleau – Lecavalier – Thornton (10-15 minutes)
Doan – Richards (8-12 minutes)

We also have to accept that some guys are going to be easier to slot into PK or PP roles as well.

As I see it, we have several overlaps on this team in terms of skill sets; the first two lines are going to score the majority of the goals on this team, simply because they’re going to have more opportunity. This is probably going to be a PP heavy team (judging by the last two World Championships).

Is Babcock going to play power v. power, or is Babcock going to get a shutdown group together and feed the top two lines a soft parade?

I would suggest a team that looks more like this:

Iginla – Crosby – Nash (every guy on this line is used to playing the best, is defensively responsible and no forward on Canada should be getting more ice time than Crosby.)
Carter/Heatley – Getzlaf – Perry/Toews – (A sublime passer, a one shot scorer and a guy everyone hates to play against. Getting scored on is one thing but getting scored on and getting cheap shotted is quite another. You can feed these guys the soft parade, or as soft parade as it gets in best on best).

St. Louis – Thornton – Lecavalier (Here we take Thornton away from the spotlight which seems to be weighing on him in the playoffs and we simplify his job. This is a shutdown line, tell big Joe don’t let them score and no doubt this line will still pot a few. Thornton and St. Louis hooked it up big time in the 2005 Worlds and obviously Lecavalier is familiar as well. One guy has to play out of position but that didn’t seem to hurt us too bad in ’02.)

Doan – Morrow – Richards – (the crash and bang line. You have to remember the fourth line will only play about 10 minutes a game, they’ll be a great line for putting hte opposing team on it’s heels. Who in their right mind would be happy to go up against these three guys? No line in hockey has had this much skill and intimidation. Coincidently this line is entirely composed of NHL captains.

PK specialists: Richards, St. Louis, Morrow, Doan,
PP specialists: everyone else

I think a team like this would be much more sophisticated than just rolling 4 lines. This is a best on best tournament not an all-star game and I hope the team isn’t picked solely on a points basis.

by Kyle M on Jul 3, 2009 2:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Your team is nearly identical to mine, aside from the fact I had Marleau instead of Perry/Toews, took both Carter and Heatley (who are much different players) instead of St. Louis, and had Savard instead of Morrow.

Richards and Carter are your PK guys, with Nash and Marleau on the second pairing. All four play a bigger PK role in the NHL than Morrow, St. Louis or Doan.

You’re mistaken. You can find elite offensive talents who play well defensively given Canada’s depth — there’s no need to look elsewhere.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jul 3, 2009 2:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure why you would suggest in one sentence than you can find elite offensive talents who play well defensively (apparently you don’t feel St. Louis, Perry/Toews or Morrow fit this category) then put Marleau on your team. His offence has been slightly better than pedestrian except for one season (as Tyler Dellow mentioned about Khabibulin’s sv %, which one of these is not like the other one).

And I completely agree that Carter and Heatley are different players, in fact I would say Carter is a much more complete player, which is exactly why I would suggest if over a season the goal differential between the two is 4 goals or so, why wouldn’t I take the guy who’s good all over the ice? I would love to take a closer look a the desjardins numbers regarding Heatley’s GAON with and without certain players, because I have a strong feeling he benefits from playing with a guy like Alfredsson.

Now, you can play around on the team I’ve created with who will play the bigger PK roles; I debated putting Nash on the list but the fact is that he’s going to be good no matter where he goes. Personally, I would rather save a guy like Nash for a lot of EV minutes and let the guys playing less minutes be fresh for the PK, St. Louis has a lot of experience there, and Doan always seems to get put on the 2nd unit in the Worlds.

St. Louis has simply been a good smart hockey player for so long, its unfortunate he’s lost in the circus in Tampa Bay. Any other team and the guy would be back to his 04 superstar status.

As in regards to Savard, personally, I would have invited him to camp. I know Hockey Canada seems to ignore him for whatever reason, and he wasn’t well received attitude wise while in Calgary, but the numbers simply don’t lie. Regardless, I’m going to be realistic when putting the team together. Short of scoring 50 in 39 Savard is not going to be on this team. What is the next best option?

Sometimes I feel as if people’s memories are short, but Morrow is a hell of a hockey player regardless of the metric used. If you’ve ever seen him play for Canada he’s always been incredibly effective (Healtey- Briere – Morrow line comes to mind) and if we ignore the recency effect of the 09 playoffs, it would be nice to recognize Morrow for what can only be described as an incredible effort in the 08 playoffs. No one on that Dallas team was better.

by Kyle M on Jul 3, 2009 2:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Canada could use him as a PP specialist

The Canadian team will probably have 13 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goalies. Use 12 guys to form four lines and use Savard to run the PP. Just about everyone in the league considers him one of the best passers around and remember, the Canadian PP sucked rocks in Turin because they just had a bunch of scorers. A good PP needs a good setup guy and few match Savard there.

by Stranger on Jul 4, 2009 7:56 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs