Pressed Their Luck

When Ivan Fedotov finally arrived in Philadelphia, the chapter of him playing illegally in Russia due to his contractual status with the Flyers seemed to be over. After all, the Flyers had signed him to a new deal, he seemed like he was going to get his shot with Carter Hart in his own legal hot water, and the Flyers desperately needed reliable goaltending if they were going to make a push for the playoffs. It almost worked, too, as the Flyers missed out on the playoffs in their final game of the season, but things were still churning behind the scenes for Fedotov when it came to how he ignored the IIHF's warnings about playing in the KHL. This weekend, the IIHF played the role of Whammy! on this real-life version of the TV game show Press Your Luck.

As per the IIHF's announcement this weekend, the IIHF came down pretty heavily on all the parties involved in the Fedotov-CSKA case. The only team that seemingly escaped punishment was the Philadelphia Flyers, so I'll credit the IIHF as they followed through with their threats of heavy penalties for the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, CSKA and the KHL, and Ivan Fedotov fairly well.

As a reminder, these penalties are being imposed on the above parties for their involvement in "violating the IIHF International Transfer Regulations (continuing to allow Fedotov to play without an approved international transfer) and, with respect to Fedotov, his continued violation of his NHL Standard Player Contract (SPC) with the Philadelphia Flyers."

The details are that Fedotov signed a deal with CSKA to play in the KHL while being under contract with the Flyers, and the Flyers filed a complaint with the IIHF for them to resolve the issue. These final penalties imposed this weekend should lay this matter to rest after CSKA terminated Fedotov's contract to make him a free agent, allowing him to sign a new deal with the Flyers. Up to speed? Good.

The IIHF ruled on Saturday that CSKA, who violated the transfer rule, would be sanctioned with "a twenty-four-month transfer ban on all international transfers that starts from the day the original one-year transfer ban concludes (August 11, 2024 until August 10, 2026)." In short, CSKA cannot sign international players until August 10, 2026 for failing to follow the rules.

The IIHF also ruled on Saturday that Ivan Fedotov receives a "a six-month suspension from playing at the club level (which shall be served upon his return from the NHL to any club under/within an IIHF Member National Federation jurisdiction)... for his continued violation of his SPC and complete disregard for the IIHF's original four-month suspension." In short, because Fedotov knew he was under contract with the Flyers and refused to comply with the IIHF's original suspension, he will be banned from playing for any international IIHF-affiliated club outside the NHL for six months once his NHL career ends. Under this ruling, it does not prevent Fedotov from being traded or signing as a free agent within the NHL.

The IIHF additionally ruled on Saturday that Ivan Fedotov receives "a three-year suspension... from playing in all IIHF Competitions as defined in Bylaw 1, which will include the Olympic Games." In short, Fedotov's refusal to follow the rules will keep him out of all IIHF-sanctioned international competitions until May 2027. He'll miss the Olympic Games in Italy plus all of the IIHF World Hockey Championships and any of the IIHF-NHL joint competitions such as the World Cup of Hockey.

Finally, the IIHF also ruled that the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) would be fined "a 1,000,000 CHF (one million Swiss Francs) fine" for the transfer violations. For those wondering, that's a fine that is just short of $1.11 million USD or, in more appropriate Russian terms, 100,531,700 rubles. This last ruling might sting a little bit.

In response to these new sanctions handed down, no one should be surprised that "[t]he RIHF will challenge the decision in accordance with the established procedure." I'd be shocked if this challenge will do anything to reduce the sanctions, but you can't fault a country ran by a war-mongering dictator for trying, right?

In the past, I've been overly-critical of the IIHF and their Disciplinary Board for being far too lenient towards countries and players who break the rules of the game. With today's rulings that shuld ultimately close the book on Fedotov's transfer violations, they've shown some teeth in punishing both Fedotov and the RIHF harshly while CSKA's ability to attract talent has been seriously hindered. The Russians rolled the dice, though, and believed they could get away with whatever they pleased with little consequence, but they seemed to have pressed their luck a little too far. And like the gentleman on Press Your Luck above, they got "Whammied" hard this weekend by the IIHF.

I don't usually cheer for the IIHF, but I will today. Let the next country who feels they can do whatever they please with transfer violations take warning: the IIHF isn't playing games.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Direct Line To The NHL

With the second round of the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs coming to an end tonight, the eight teams playing in the Division Finals are set. There are no Canadian teams in this upcoming round after both Calgary and Abbotsford were eliminated, but two former IHL teams will square off as Milwaukee will meet Grand Rapids. That means a former IHL team will be among the final four teams competing for the Clarkson Cup which still blows my mind considering that the AHL was always seen as the better league when the IHL and AHL competed for talent. While this is something I looked at a few years back, there's another trend that seems to be developing based on who won the Calder Cup, and there may be teams who continue the timeline on this trend based on what they do this summer and beyond in their front offices.

Since 2001-02 when the Chicago Wolves won the AHL's Calder Cup over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, eleven of the general managers running the 15 different teams to have won the Calder Cup have been promoted to NHL jobs. Dave Barr, who guided the Houston Aeros to the Calder Cup in 2002-03, and Mike Vellucci, who put the Charlotte Checkers on top in 2018-19, are the only former AHL general managers to have not gone into management at the NHL level, instead becoming assistant coaches. Barr worked for the Avalanche, Wild, Devils, Sabres, and Sharks since winning the Calder Cup while Vellucci joined Mike Sullivan's staff in Pittsburgh after his win.

The other nine men include the likes of Kevin Cheveldayoff, Bob Clarke, Bob Gainey, Tim Murray, Julien BriseBois, Jim Nill, Rob Blake, Bill Zito, and Kyle Dubas, and it seems like there could be another name that could join the list in Hartford's Ryan Walter who is currently the assistant GM with the New York Rangers. While there's no guarantee that an AHL GM will be promoted to run the NHL affiliate, Walter might be a perfect example of team wanting to change directions and needing someone with fresh ideas.

While Bob Clarke and Bob Gainey were running the show at both the AHL and NHL levels, other NHL teams opted to look outside their affiliates for help. As we know, Kevin Cheveldayoff jumped from the Chicago Wolves to the Winnipeg Jets, Tim Murray went from the Binghamton Senators to the Buffalo Sabres, and Jim Nill jumped from Grand Rapids to Dallas. I don't know how many GM vacancies there will be this summer, but whether it's Walter in Hartford, Scott White in Texas, or Stacy Roest in Syracuse, there are very capable candidates should a vacancy develop.

The reason the eleven AHL GMs have gone onto NHL roles is quite simple: they win. The NHL is a definitely a win-now league, so the guys who do win at the AHL level are often seen as having the insights and expertise to build an NHL roster after guiding an AHL team, whose roster is always changing, to the Calder Cup championship. Long-term success only gets one so far, it seems, but winning the Calder Cup seems to be the feather in one's cap to make NHL front offices sit up and take notice. It's hard to understand why that seems to be the case, but winning a championship seems to be the catalyst in getting promoted in the management ranks.

I can't say that there aren't guys who would prefer to stay where they are as Doug Yingst spent a number of years collecting championship rings with the Hershey Bears without ever jumping to the NHL ranks. Phil Wittliff, Joe Baumann, and Godfrey Wood had their coaches ascend higher than they did in the hockey world, so it's not like all successful AHL GMs get to steer the big ship at the NHL level. There are only so many GM positions available, so there may be a little luck involved when it comes to timing as well.

What shouldn't be discounted, though, is that NHL teams will scour the AHL for their next GM just as they've done over the last two decades. As stated above, there are immediate candidates based on the successes of the eight AHL teams still standing and in the past few years, and I have a feeling at least one of those guys will be promoted to an NHL position sooner than later. One of Hershey, Hartford, Cleveland, Syracuse, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Coachella Valley, or Ontario will win the Calder Cup this season, and the next great NHL GM could be running that franchise at this very moment.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Back In The Saddle Again

If there is one guarantee in hockey that isn't restricted by country or league, it's that teams who struggle will ultimately look to make changes. The easiest solution in most of these situations is to change the coaching staff because it seems clear that the players either couldn't or wouldn't execute the systems installed by the coach successfully, so the logic would suggest that team needs to find someone who can motivate the players to play new systems successfully. Today, eight teams in western Canada may have let out a sigh of despair because PWHL New York and head coach Howie Draper mutually agreed to part ways with Draper reportedly returning to the University of Alberta to resume his coaching duties with the Pandas.

For anyone suggesting that one cannot go home again, I have no doubt that the Pandas will continue their legacy of winning undr Draper just as they did in his one season of working in New York, and that the Pandas may actually get better next season with Draper behind the bench once again. For the eight teams in Canada West who will try to make Draper's return as unwelcome as they can, having Draper back in the conference should force those eight coaches to raise their games once again.

PWHL New York recorded a 5-12-3-4 (W-L-OTW-OTL) record in their first season, finishing sixth out of six teams in the PWHL while securing the first-overall pick in this summer's draft. Draper preached defensive responsibility and discipline all season, it seemed, yet PWHL New York surrendered a league-high 67 goals in 24 games. Some of that was due to poor defensive zone coverage, but it seemed clear that the players on New York's roster were less inclined to slow the game down as Draper may have wanted.

Abby Roque's 31 PIMs were second-highest in the league this season, and her -15 rating overshadowed her 13 points. The four worst plus/minus ratings in the league were all New York players, and these were bigger names on their roster as Micah Zandee-Hart, Roque, Elizabeth Giguère, and Jaime Bourbonnais were a combined -60. Yes, they played a lot of minutes together for New York so that -60 isn't as bad as it seems, but only Olivia Zafuto and Savannah Norcross were plus players for anyone who skated in more than half the games. That's hard to believe on a Howie Draper team, but that's the reality.

By the time the World Championship break had begun at the start of April, it was apparent that New York was en route to missing the playoffs after being outshot, outscored, and outchanced in virtually every game they played this season. With rumours of players tuning out the head coach and after a visible disagreement between Draper and assistant coach Colton Orr earlier in the season, the writing was on the wall as Draper and the team were clearly on different islands.

This is the point in time where I'll say the quiet part loud: I don't think Howie Draper is suited to be a professional hockey coach. I can feel former players from the University of Alberta calling for my head after saying that, but let me explain why I feel like that.

As we know, Howie Draper is an exceptional leader, an intelligent hockey coach, and a phenomenal identifier of talent. What made Howie Draper great in Alberta was that he could choose players that fit his system as opposed to the professional game where he was required to mold that roster into a team who could play his game. With some of the professional players playing for national teams or having played significantly different roles for their college teams, Howie didn't have the same control in building his roster to fit his systems' needs. As a result, he didn't get full buy-in when it came to preaching defensive responsibility and staying out of the sin bin.

With the Pandas, Draper gets that buy-in from his players because you give the effort he demands at both ends of the ice or you don't play. That option didn't exist in New York, so players who seemingly weren't giving the effort he sought would be stapled to the bench. This led to stars like Roque, Eldridge, and Alex Carpenter logging a ton of ice-time while others didn't, and it became glaringly obvious as the season rolled on that Draper was playing some players far more than others. Those plus/minus numbers above were partly due to how often those stars were on the ice.

Having Draper back at Alberta will allow him to recruit players who fit his systems, who will play how he demands, and who will find success. What happened in New York can be summed up pretty easily: an extremely successful coach who uses proven systems was the wrong fit with the roster assembled. There's blame to be shared for why his coaching style didn't work on all sides, but Draper will find himself back on familiar ground where it did work for so many years, and it likely will start to work once again.

Take a deep breath, Canada West, because Howie Draper's coming home. And maybe all eight teams in Canada West should work a little harder this summer because as successful as the Pandas were without him, Draper might have a little more motivation when it comes to winning Canada West in the 2024-25 season. Don't say you weren't warned - the sheriff is back in the saddle again in Edmonton.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

New Looks For Next Season

If you were unaware that the logo to the left was Bauer's logo, you're in the same boat as me. I had no idea they had changed their logo from the stylized "B" they had used for a while to whatever the design to the left is, but apparently it happened sometime in October 2021. Clearly, I need to pay more attention, but it's not like hockey has had deep ties to Bauer for a while as most jerseys are made by CCM or Adidas while Bauer's market share in the equipment game seems to be evaporating. That may change next season, though, after a major announcement from a league today as the PWHL and Bauer will partner up as Bauer becomes the first Official Jersey Partner of the PWHL beginning in 2024-25 as they build on their commitment to the women's game as an official league partner and equipment supplier.

"This year, the PWHL players and leadership have created a watershed moment that will have lasting and positive effects on girls and women for generations and extending far beyond the game of hockey," Mary-Kay Messier, Bauer Hockey's VP of Global Marketingsaid on Thursday. "We're proud to expand our partnership by leveraging our passionate hockey audience and expertise to further elevate the fan experience, attract new families, and continue supporting the growth of the PWHL."

Self-congratulations aside, the addition of Bauer as the jersey partner doesn't really move the needle in terms of what will be seen on the ice, but there were some tidbits in the announcement that should be examined further.

As per the release, Bauer and the PWHL will release "newly designed jerseys leading into the 2024-25 season" for all six teams, so this feels a little like the PHF where every season saw teams get new jerseys. Frankly, I don't mind the upgrade from what the teams currently have, but this better not be an annual thing. Jerseys are part of each team's brand, and changing them each year removes the chances of those looks being timeless. Let's find a design and stick with it, so here's hoping Bauer's new designs are fantastic.

The second piece that caught my attention was Bauer's commitment to both female hockey and the PWHL as they'll ensure that "[a] portion of replica jersey sales will help to create and support a program designed to introduce more girls to hockey and grow the PWHL fan base". There was no figure on how big that portion of replica jersey sales will be, but here's hoping it's significant with the growth in women's hockey and, in general, women's sports seen in the last five years. Wanna help women's hockey? Buy a jersey!

Obviously, we now wait for these six new designs, but you may want to get a current jersey for historical purposes right now. With four teams battling for the first Walter Cup, support your favorite teams in what they're wearing today before they're gone next season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 607

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, finishes off Round One of the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest tonight by sending four more entrants off the island and back to the mainland. Honestly, that was a solid first round of playoff hockey when one looks at the big picture as we got a couple of seven-game series, there were some big scores, and no lead seemingly was safe. Will that continue in the second round? We've already seen a few games that may reinforce the idea that playoff hockey is a different beast compared to regular season hockey. In any case, we have more exits tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason bring back Tanner (Golden Knights), Dave (Maple Leafs), Ethan (Lightning), and Derek (Predators) for their final statements on how their teams let them down in the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest. We'll hear from those four in the first half-hour of the show as we breakdown where things went wrong for each of those teams before our hosts get into discussions about Gardiner MacDougall's potential new landing spot, the PWHL making changes for next season, Rob Blake's $15 million decision, the NHL Draft Lottery, a coach being dismissed today, and anything else we can squeeze into the hour. The chatter with Survivor entrants should be fun tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat with Tanner, Dave, Ethan, and Derek about where their teams came up short on their quest for Stanley Cup glory before diving into new coaches, fired coaches, bad financial decisions, new jerseys, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: May 9, 2024: Episode 607

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!