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HPT 3 Stars: Gomez scores! Justin Bourne Feb 10, 2012 | 3:18 am
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HPT 3 Stars: Gagner with the wind Justin Bourne Feb 9, 2012 | 2:46 am

Stock Up, Stock Down

Columns

Written by Justin Bourne

Friday, June 18, 2010 15:24

Things change. That's just a fact of life.

And with each NHL season, the seesaw of success and failure teeters between organizations, rewarding some while punishing others. I'm pretty sure the Islanders are still paying back all their good fortune from the 80's.

Once in a while, it's fun to step back and check the hockey stock market. What's rising like a rocket, and what's sinking like a stone. Here's three of each:

Sinking Stock

Everyone likes the bad news first so they can end on a positive note. The following stocks are dropping faster than BP:

1. Cristobal Huet. You have to feel for the guy. When the Blackhawks embarked on their quest for the Stanley Cup, Huet was resigned to the bench. From there, he and his massive contract watched Antti Niemi blossom into a bona fide starting goaltender and, eventually, the lead dog on a Stanley Cup winning team. Now Huet looks overpaid and unwanted on a team with cap problems. Will they send him to the minors to get him off the cap? Anything's possible right now for Huet.

2. Dump and chase. The last three Cups have been won by puck possession teams full of talented, young stars. Defenseman on good teams are far too talented to go back on a puck, hammer it against the wall and hope their forwards come up with it. Now, they shoulder check on the way back, find and outlet, and start their team going the other way. It's just too hard to get the puck back, so the game is evolving so teams just don't give it up. And since dump-and-chase is headed down, entertainment value is headed up.

3. Old school coaches. Sorry to Pat Quinn, who I fully respect, but the days of defense-first coaches who preach hard work instead of countering systems are limited. Mike Babcock was one of the first of the "new era" style coaches that, while demanding effort and defense, actually did a lot of X's and O's coaching. Guys like Mike Keenan and John Tortorella are more prone to blaming losses on lack of effort and physical play instead of getting technical, and that just doesn't cut it in today's NHL. GM's that want a hard-nosed, take-no-guff coach have their priorities screwed up. Nowadays, there are too many players who were coddled from a young age, and you need to be able to adapt to your team instead of making them adapt to you.

Rising Stock

1. Claude Giroux and Ville Leino. For those who follow the NHL closely, they know Giroux's stock is well beyond the "buy low" point – he's been a steady riser for some time. But as with all players whose potential outweighs their experience, you never know if and when they'll actually "get there." Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has been counting on the 22-year-old Giroux to get there, since he's been turning down trade offers for him for a long time. The playoffs showed that not only can he perform at a high level against the best in the league, but he can do it when it counts.

His linemate Leino isn't much different. A player with potential that didn't seem to be "getting there" (in Detroit's eyes, anyway) Leino really found his stride in playoffs alongside Giroux. He showed that he's able to use his size to complement his skill set, and gave Philly a seriously dangerous second line.

2. St. Louis Blues. St. Louis spent the 2009-10 season as one of those "almost" teams. With two decent forward lines, a decent goaltender and a D-corps with potential, they seemed just on the verge of being good. But they never quite got there.

Halfway through the season, they picked up rising star coach Davis Payne from their farm team in Peoria, the type of younger, X's and O's coach that can be both a player's coach and THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THAT, depending on the situation. e came in at the right time to grow with his young core, and with names like David Backes and T.J. Oshie being a year older, they were poised to move onto to being a playoff team in the upcoming season. Then yesterday, they went from "decent" goaltending to "great," trading a young (not quite there) prospect and a young (not there either) tough guy for Jaroslav Halak. All the pieces are in place for the Blues to give opponents fits in 2010-11.

3. TV coverage. The NHL spent the majority of the last season pumping out press release after press release showing the increase in TV viewership. Granted, it helped in playoffs that two of the five biggest TV markets were represented, but the ratings were great in other rounds for other teams as well. The good news for the NHL is that the positive news coincides with negotiations for new TV deals in the near future. Whether the league stays with VERSUS, hits up ESPN, expands its role at NBC – or wherever it chooses to go from here – it's only going to get better for hockey fans in the U.S. moving forward.

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