Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

Can somebody please drive a broken composite stick through the heart of that saying that is trotted out every time a big trade is made in the National Hockey League?

You know the saying; whichever team ends up with the best player wins the trade.

Yeah, says who?

Sam Pollock, that’s who.  The legendary general manager of the Montreal Canadiens worked the phones at a time when it often seemed that half of his fellow GM’s in the league approached their job like it was a hobby, something they did for kicks after the dishes were done.

In this day-and-age, despite what the frothing fan base of a particular franchise may feel, every one of the thirty NHL general managers are top notch.  In this instantaneous over-informed society we live in, there is no way a GM not up to the job would last for any length of time.  They would very quickly be exposed.  Bob Pulford should thank his lucky stars he handled the job at a time when dinosaurs such as Bill Wirtz walked the Earth.

When two teams make a major trade, such as the one the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs engineered on the last day of January, some hockey pundit somewhere will bring up that old Sam Pollock saying.

It’s often true; just think of the Montreal Canadiens moving disgruntled goaltender Patrick Roy (along with Mike Keane) to the newly minted Colorado Avalanche in exchange for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, and forwards Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky (December 6^th, 1995).

But it’s not always the case.

Steve Simmons uttered the Sam Pollock phrase on “The Reporters” on TSN, citing defenceman Dion Phaneuf as the best player in the Flames/Maple Leafs deal.

If that is indeed correct, then why did Flames’ GM Darryl Sutter trade the best player?  Did Sutter bump his head during a weekend trip to Okotoks?

Of course not; Sutter appraised his team, what it needed and what could be sacrificed, all the time keeping in mind the underlying factor of the salary cap, and its often far-reaching implications.

Maple Leafs’ GM Brian Burke did the same thing to his team, and presto, we had a big trade to discuss.

On paper, or at least on a piece of paper dated January 31^st, 2008, Phaneuf is without question the best player in the swap.  But that is a long two years ago.  Since then, Phaneuf has become everybody’s favourite whipping boy, and as the Flames were awash in expensive defenceman, it was pretty clear they would move the underachieving, at times selfish, rearguard.

Time will tell if Phaneuf is the best player in the deal.  Maybe big defenceman Keith Aulie will end up being the best player.  That’s the chance any team takes when it swaps warm bodies.

The Calgary Flames traded Brett Hull to the St. Louis Blues.  The young emerging sniper went on to a Hall-of-Fame career.  The Flames profited from that trade by winning the 1989 Stanley Cup.  Hull would not win a Cup in St. Louis.

The Golden Brett was the best player in the trade in hindsight.  Even at the time of the transaction, the Flames knew they were giving up a future superstar.  Still, who won that trade?

That March 7^th, 1988 trade breaks down as such…Brett Hull, and Steve Bozak to the Blues for defenceman Rob Ramage and goaltender Rick Wamsley.  The Flames were upset that spring by the Edmonton Oilers (Wayne Gretzky’s final hurrah as an Oiler), but Ramage was a key part of the Redwood defence that helped the Flames win it all a year later.

Speaking of blockbusters, how about Gretzky going to the Los Angeles Kings during the summer of 1988?  It put hockey on the map, as the cliché goes, in many non-traditional markets in the U.S. (feel free to debate the pros and cons of that result), but the Kings never won the Stanley Cup.  They lost to Montreal in 1993, while the Oilers won the 1990 Cup, two seasons after trading The Great One.  As for Gretzky, he never won another Stanley Cup after 1988.

Who won that Gretzky trade?  Well, the Kings, even though they never won the Cup.  If anything, that trade was a harbinger of what the NHL would face during the 1990’s; the marginalization of small market teams and the resulting player moves necessistated by monetary concerns.

That August 9^th, 1988 trade breaks down as such…Gretzky goes to the Kings along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski.  To the Oilers goes Martin Gelinas, Jimmy Carson, 1^st round draft picks in 1989, 1991, and 1993 and money.

Money, because Oilers’ owner Peter Pocklington was beginning to experience the first of his many business/legal headaches to follow.  “I’d Trade Him Again”, indeed.

Gelinas and Carson were key members of that 1990 Stanley Cup winning squad in Edmonton.

Even if either Phaneuf or Aulie outperforms the players sent to Southern Alberta in this latest blockbuster, when a GM makes a trade, he’s looking to improve his team, not worrying about the legacy of the trade.  If his team improves, either short-term for a playoff drive, or long-term, then the legacy issue usually takes care of itself.

Exhibit B about the foolhardiness of investing 100% faith in the Pollock saying also involves the Calgary Flames.

Flames fans were up-in-arms when Magic Kent Nilsson was traded to the Minnesota North Stars on June 15^th, 1985.  Through that trade, the Flames received two draft picks, one which they used to grab Joe Nieuwendyk in the second round (27^th overall) in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

When Nilsson hoisted the 1987 Stanley Cup with the hated Edmonton Oilers, many Flames’ fans decried the earlier trade, asking “Joe Who?” about Nieuwendyk, until Joe Who popped in 51 goals as a rookie in 1987-88.

Joe Who was part of the Flames 1989 Stanley Cup team, so when it came time for Calgary to move him along to the Dallas Stars (December 19^th, 1995), they got Corey Millen, and some guy named Jarome Iginla.

Iginla had been the Stars 1^st round draft pick in 1995, and all these years later, the captain of the Flames is a reasonable bet to make the Hockey Hall-of-Fame upon his retirement.

Still, some Flames’ fans grumbled about losing Joe Who to the Stars.  You’d think they’d have learned their lesson; the team that gets the “best player” in the trade doesn’t necessarily win the trade.

The Minnesota North Stars got Nilsson, but he won a Cup with the Oilers.  The Dallas Stars got Nieuwendyk, and he helped them win their only Cup, but they paid a heavy price in giving up Iginla.

Arguably, both teams won that trade.

Then there’s the June 13^th, 1987 swap between the Quebec Nordiques and the Washington Capitals.  Dale Hunter, the heart and soul of the 1980’s Quebec Nordiques went to D.C., and coming back to Quebec was a draft choice that ended up being Joe Sakic.

(The actual trade was Gaeten Duchesne, Alan Haworth and a 1^st round draft pick to Washington for Dale Hunter and Clint Malarchuk).

Perennial playoff failures, the Capitals got a shot-in-the-arm with the inclusion of Hunter on their roster, and they finally won a Game Seven in overtime when La Petite Peste scored on a breakaway against the Flyers’ Ron Hextall the following spring.

The Nordiques entered some very bleak years, before stockpiling high draft picks, and emerging as a young, promising team, led by Sakic.

Both teams can claim to have won that trade, all depending on how you view it.  The Capitals needed to change up their chemistry, and the Nords needed to rebuild.  Both succeeded thanks in large part to that trade.

In reality, the team that really won that trade was the Colorado Avalanche, but no-one had any inkling of that reality back when the Hunter trade was consummated.

A final note.  Even if Dion Phaneuf wins the Norris Trophy, the Leafs/Flames trade is not even close to being a duplicate of the January 2^nd, 1992 trade that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto, despite what the Toronto-based hockey media has been repeating over and over and over again.

The Flames and Maple Leafs exchanged five players each that day, with Gilmour being the prime asset.  He was a very good player with Calgary (and St. Louis before that), and thanks to a contract impasse with GM Doug Risebrough and the Flames’ brass, Gilmour was shipped out-of-town.

This transaction actually fits the Sam Pollock saying about which team wins a trade.

Even on that day, unless you were a diehard Flames fan, one could see the Leafs “won” that trade.  The inspired play of Gilmour, and the sizeable contributions of the likes of Jamie Macoun, and Ric Nattress, far out shadowed the meager contributions in Cowtown of the likes of Gary Leeman and Michel Petit.

I know, for I had a sprited argument with the Calgary cabbie who was dropping me off at the Calgary airport that evening, as I was returning to Toronto after spending Christmas with the family.  He was convinced that the Gilmour trade would put the Flames over the top, as they were getting 50-goal scorer Leeman.

Leeman would win his only Stanley Cup two seasons later as a role player with the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.  His stay in Calgary was brief and uneventful.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and GM Cliff Fletcher won that trade easily.  It helped revive, on-ice, that franchise, and set up the Leafs to enjoy, for the most part, a rather successful decade.  In both 1993, and 1994, the Leafs were legitimate Cup contenders.

That was a trade that shook up the NHL.  The current Flames/Maple Leafs trade only shakes up those two teams.

- Mick Kern

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

As an official PGA Nationwide Tour event, the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung  is returning for its third year from July 5 to 11, 2010.  Learn More

As an official PGA Nationwide Tour event, the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung returns for its third year and features celebrities and amateurs paired with 160 professionals in a Pro-Am formatted golf tournament.

When:

• July 5-7 – Practice Rounds
• July 8-9 – Tournament Play
• July 10-11 – Final Round

Where:

• Georgian Bay Club (July 5-11) and the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay (July 5-9)

Georgian Bay Club and the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay are nestled beautifully in the Thornbury / Collingwood area, just one hour from Toronto, Ontario.

Further details, including players, media accreditation, ticket sales and volunteer registration will be disclosed in the coming months.  Keep checking www.gretzky.com/golf for details.

Officially confirmed for Fantasy Camp VIII are the NHL’s No. 3 all-time goal scorer and Hall-of-Famer Brett Hull, 2009 Hall-of-Fame inductee Brian Leetch, Hall-of-Fame defenseman, Larry Robinson and former NHL veteran defenseman and noted tough guy Marty McSorley.  Learn More

Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp annually features a who’s who of hockey heroes and the eighth camp – scheduled for March 24-29 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas – keeps the tradition alive.

Officially confirmed for Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp VIII are the NHL’s No. 3 all-time goal scorer and Hall-of-Famer Brett Hull, former New York Rangers captain and 2009 Hall-of-Fame inductee Brian Leetch, Hall-of-Fame defenseman and Stanley Cup champion player and coach Larry Robinson and former NHL veteran defenseman and noted tough guy Marty McSorley.

Hull, Leetch, Robinson and McSorley join Wayne and additional former NHL legends and celebrities at this one-of-a-kind hockey fan experience. Attendees at Fantasy Camp VIII not only get to skate alongside these greats of the game, but also have plenty of off-ice opportunities to mingle with these professionals and hear stories and tales that any hockey fan would treasure.

More professionals and celebrities will be revealed as the camp approaches, so please check back at www.gretzky.com for the next fantasy camp announcement.

In addition to the on-ice action, Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp VIII also features five days of luxury hotel accommodations, hockey equipment, fantasy camp apparel, special gifts and entrance to VIP events, such as an opening cocktail reception, closing ceremony and a private poker tournament. Space is limited and registration is reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. Cost for the camp is $10,999. For more information and/or to register, please visit www.gretzky.com/fantasycamp.

Don’t miss out on this chance to bring your hockey dreams to life.

Be sure to enjoy one of Wayne’s menu favorites during your next visit including Grandma Gretzky’s Perogies.  Inspired by Grandma Gretzky’s original recipe.  Enjoy potato and cheddar cheese filled dumplings, pan fried with smoked bacon and sweet caramelized onions. Served with sour cream and scallions.  View Menu

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

The Curse of the Locusts is over.

Way before any of these much-hyped Winter Classic outdoor NHL games, the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings faced off in the great outdoors for an exhibition match in September of 1991.

The game was held outside of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and at one point, they had to stop things to deal with an infestation of locusts, as if the Hockey Gods were signalling their displeasure with how Their Game had be reduced to a Vegas sideshow…and the coming expansion of the NHL into the Sun Belt.

With the Boston Bruins’ 2-1 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the snowy confines of Fenway Park, we finally have a notch under the win column for the home team.

The way things were going, the home town had to accept the inevitability of a defeat in exchange for the privilege of hosting the gala affair.

Maybe the Hockey Gods finally approve.

In November of 2003, in bitter cold weather, the Montreal Canadiens upended the hometown Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in the Heritage Classic.

Two years ago, during the first Winter Classic, held in the snow globe commonly known as Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the hometown Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a shootout.

Last year, the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings defeated the hometown Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 at Wrigley Field.

Of course, back during the dawn of professional hockey, they played outdoors on a regular basis, though that feels like two centuries ago, so that doesn’t count.

As for Winter Classic Mark III, I think this proves that actual goals are important in hockey.

Yes, I can hear the old fogies now, and I was once in lockstep with them.  A good game is not contingent on the number of goals, it’s the number of chances and the overall flow of the game.

To those points, I still agree, though I think both are trumped by the actual scoring of goals.

For it’s when they light the lamp that the crowd really gets into the game.  Sure, a good body check, or a great save, or even a fight, will all elicit excited responses from the crowd, but the goal of the game is still, well, goals.  Score more than the other guys.

The ice conditions at Fenway were as probably favourable as they’ll ever be for one of these outside dances, meaning both the Flyers and Bruins were able to play a game resembling an everyday  NHL contest, albeit with the heating broken and some wind to contend with.

Though maybe that’s the problem, the fact they could play a reasonable facsimile of an indoor NHL game; maybe that speaks more of a continuing tightening of defensive systems and the resulting anti-surfeit of scoring in the league.

The Flyers held a 1-0 lead for a sizeable portion of the game, and though the quality of play was arguably superior to that in Edmonton and Buffalo, there was an underlying feeling the game hadn’t nearly reached its entertainment potential; well, that was the sentiment in my basement.

Early on, Shawn Thornton and Daniel Carcillo exchanged late Christmas cards to each other’s face, which instantly made them the answers to a trivia question.  The bout in unto itself was not particularly noteworthy, so the game was still searching for its signature moment.

There were a couple of breakaway chances that Tim Thomas turned aside, and you could go a number of games during any given week in the NHL and not see a guy sprung free, so that was nice.

But the game needed a goal, if possible, a big goal.

The Flyers scored first, thanks mainly to Thomas deciding to go all Ron Hextall on Scott Hartnell just as a point shot was threading its way into the back of his net.

The reigning Vezina Trophy winner more than made up for that gaffe, providing visual evidence why U.S.A. Olympic Team general manager Brian Burke made him one of three goaltenders on the American hockey squad for Vancouver.

Still, this game came to life when old pro Mark Recchi scored to tie it with 2:18 left in the third period.

That’s when the game came to resemble an NBA game.  You know, you only watch a basketball game for the last two minutes.

The offensive thrusts into the zones were numerous, and both teams created scoring chances, if only from the hurried nature of those last 120 seconds.

Naturally, the game went into extra innings, and the home team got the extra point, and as importantly, the extra style point, for winning it, sending the Bleacher Bums home happy.

If the game had ended 1-0 Flyers, much of the talk would have been about Tim Thomas, and how he let his mask slip, and a goal resulted as a result.  If that score had stood, I would have nominated him First Star for creating the best offensive chance of the game.

Thankfully, this was not to be the case, and the 2010 edition of the Winter Classic will probably go down in most people’s books as indeed a classic.

It wasn’t.

It was a good game, not a great game.  Like most good games, it had moments, though those moments only served to whet the appetite for more such moments.

The build-up to the game was nicely handled, as were those TV commercials with Alex Ovechkin and his Caps’ taking on the Flyers on the frozen tarmac of what appeared to be Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington.  Now that would be a Winter Classic.   Best goal of the day was Ovechkin’s shot into the bulldozer.

After a couple of hours of reflection, I still think the NHL should keep to one Outdoor Classic a year.  Yes, the Canadian franchises want to share in the fun, and yes, NBC wants two American teams participating on TV.  Which means as it stands now, the six Canadian teams won’t get invited to the party.

And that’s how it should be.  Despite all the overwrought prose about kids playing hockey outdoors, this game is one big novelty.  A little sugar with the medicine for all those non-hockey fans who are sitting on the couch on New Year’s Day.  It’s tailor-made for the sports tourists, who can gasp at all the pretty pictures from the blimp.

This is one thing NHL that should remain south-of-the-border.  It won’t.  There will be two Winter Classics a season very soon.  Which will take away somewhat from the feeling of being or watching a special event.

Be the first on your block to own the latest toy, before all the nerdy kids get one too!

The Hockey Gods may look down and yawn.

As long as they don’t send the damned locusts again.

- Mick Kern

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s