5+Game with Danny Boome 19 /01/10
5+ Game with Danny Boome is the new Article and Blog for Powerplay magazine. The article will cover the 5 main events of the week – games, trades, players, coaches – and anything else that affects the NHL community.
5+Game 19th Edition
019/01/10
20th Edition 5+Game
NHL officiating comes under scrutiny again! Pen’s TV producer gets suspended, former St. Louis Blues player convicted of murder wants to play hockey in university, Theo Fleury makes an official criminal complaint, and on a happier note, the Bruins will be playing in Europe next summer! All in this week’s 5+Game!
Hunting season declared on zebras! The story of the week was Vancouver Canucks star Alex Burrows accusing Referee Stephane Auger of targeting him in a loss to the Nashville Predators. After the game, Burrows told the media: “It was personal. It started in warm-up before the anthem. The ref [Auger] came over to me and said I made him look bad in Nashville on the [Jerred] Smithson hit [during a game Dec. 8]. He said he was going to get me back tonight and he did his job in the third …”
During the third period of Vancouver’s 3-2 loss to Nashville on Monday night, Auger called 3 penalties on Burrows – for diving, interference and unsportsmanlike conduct. Personal? Maybe. The NHL didn’t think so, fining Burrows $2500, while Colin Campbell, senior executive vice president of hockey operations stated his comments were detrimental to the league and the game.
I smell a cover up! This is certainly something Campbell didn’t need after another week of serious misses by officials and seven reported lapses in judgment that changed games. Clubs and their fans are frustrated – are the wheels finally coming off Campbell’s finely tuned machine?
Just trying to help or a genuine mistake? FSN Pittsburgh indefinitely suspended a longtime hockey producer for not quickly showing a replay that could have caused a short-handed goal to be awarded to Flyers forward Simon Gagne in their 7-4 against the Penguins on Thursday. The producer, Lowell MacDonald Jr., is the one-time lead hockey producer at ESPN and is the son of former Penguins forward Lowell MacDonald.
Gagne’s shot appeared to cross the goal line, but the on-ice officials did not signal a goal. Moments after play resumed, FSN Pittsburgh aired a replay from an overhead camera that showed the puck crossing the goal line. TV rights holders are required to make available all angles of a disputed play, but a call cannot be reversed by use of replay once play has restarted. FSN Pittsburgh said in a statement Tuesday that there “is nothing more important than the integrity of the game.”
From Reform to the Rink: A former St. Louis Blues player convicted of conspiracy to commit murder wants to play hockey for a Halifax university. Mike Danton, 29, has enrolled at Saint Mary’s University and is awaiting permission from Canadian correctional officials. Danton was sentenced to 7½ years in prison for his role in a murder-for-hire plot that allegedly targeted his former mentor and agent, David Frost. The native of Brampton, Ont., pleaded guilty in 2004 and spent five years in prison in the United States.
Steve Sarty, Saint Mary’s athletic director, says the university and the varsity hockey team are supportive of the proposed move as Danton has two years of college eligibility left. “I’ve had a few sleepless nights about it. I’ve done a lot of research on the situation and I think people deserve a second chance,” Sarty told TSN of Canada. As for the hockey team, the players already have signed a letter pressing their coach, Trevor Steinburg, to let Danton join the team.
Getting back to normal
Allegations of abuse lead to investigation: Winnipeg police are investigating the criminal complaint filed by former NHL star Theo Fleury alleging he was sexually assaulted by his junior hockey coach. Fleury announced Thursday on his web site that he was filing a complaint against Graham James, whom Fleury accused in his recent autobiography of sexually abusing him repeatedly during the 1980s. James pleaded guilty in 1997 to repeatedly sexually assaulting two teen players between 1984 and 1995 and got 3½ years in jail. Fleury said he struggled with the decision to lodge a criminal complaint against James. “I have been reflecting on this a long time,” he said on his web site. “I wanted to make the biggest impact on preventing this kind of thing from happening in the future.” In his book, “Playing With Fire” Fleury said the sexual abuse he suffered as a teen transformed him from a confused young man into an angry, self-loathing boozer who blew millions of dollars on cards, drugs and lap dances.
Euro Road Trip Leaked! Although there’s plenty of hockey left in this season, the Bruins already are planning for their 2010-11 season opener, which will be in Prague, an NHL source told the Boston Globe. The Bruins will play two regular season games against the Phoenix Coyotes there in late September and will participate in exhibition games against teams not yet announced.
Game
Game On: Florida Panthers winger David Booth was at practice Tuesday for the first time since taking a devastating hit 2½ months ago that sidelined him with a serious concussion.
Who’s got game? Rick DiPietro’s homecoming was almost perfect. He made 31 saves and turned away 5 shooters to end the tiebreaker, earning a 3-2 win.
The Come Back Kid
Who’s not got game? Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski was suspended two games by the NHL for an elbow hit to the head of New York Islanders rookie John Tavares.
Game of the week: The GF’s parents, diehard Blue Jackets fans, went to see Columbus vs. Chicago – a Christmas present I helped pick. What a game! Columbus lost in a 6-5 thriller, but I won some brownie points!
What game are you playing @? Alex Burrows deserves a pat on the back, not a fine. He blew the whistle on a referee with a bad agenda. The league needs to get its house in order!
