Other ways NHL teams are going green for Earth Hour

Coincidentally, this is also the Leafs'
defensive zone breakout strategy.

Tonight, people all around the world are being encouraged to dim their lights between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. in recognition of Earth Hour. The international event is meant to raise awareness of environmental issues and climate change.

Many businesses are throwing their support behind the movement, and the NHL has joined them. The league has announced an Earth Hour campaign of their own, with all teams hosting games tonight being asked to scale back energy usage in their arena.

But apparently that's just the beginning. The league has left the door open for teams to find additional ways to promote environmentalism, and according to sources, several teams have decided to do just that.

Here are some of the ways that NHL teams will be going green.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Will ask Rick Nash if he can take a one-hour break from sitting with his face three inches from a computer monitor while frantically hitting refresh on the Google News page for "Rick Nash trade rumors".

Phoenix Coyotes - Have asked the fleet of moving vans that have been circling their arena constantly for four years to pull over and just idle on the side of the road for an hour instead.

Los Angeles Kings - Have instructed all of our offensive players to conserve electricity by making sure our side of the scoreboard never changes and ... Wait, did you say Earth "hour"? Oh man, we could have sworn you said "season".

Ottawa Senators - Have told the guy who works the goal horn to reduce his output by 50% when the Senators score, since they figure 400 blasts will still be enough to get the point home.

Read the rest of this post...

Success stories from the NHL's opening month

"And then Ryan Smyth told me he used to have a
phone that was connected to the wall! What a joker!"

The NHL season is now a month old, and for many hockey fans that can mean only one thing: it's time to start looking for something to complain about.

After all, these days it seems like some fans love nothing more than pointing out someone else's flaws. And sure, if you look closely enough at any team or player you can always find at least one or two things that may be slightly less than perfect.

But as long-time readers know, I've never been the sort of writer who chooses to focus on the negative. So instead, let's take a look around the league and highlight some of the good news that's been on display in the early going. Consider this a negativity-free zone.

Here are some of the most inspiring success stories from the season's first month.

Joe Thornton - Showed a lot of class by apologizing to the Rangers for calling them the softest team the Sharks had played against, after explaining that he hadn't realized that intrasquad scrimmages counted too.

Ken Hitchcock - The Blues' new head coach will no doubt be wildly popular in St. Louis, a town where fans have proven to be willing to embrace a team's boss even if he's incapable of correctly operating a simple telephone.

Ville Leino - His $27 million contract with the Sabres is completely guaranteed no matter how he plays, his agent incredulously reminds him several times a day.

Dion Phaneuf - Has managed to put together an impressive season despite his recent habit of coming back to the bench after every shift, turning on his smartphone, checking for updates about the Calgary Flames, then laughing hysterically while high-fiving all his teammates.

Read the rest of this post...

The pros and cons of fighting in the NHL

Kill him! But, uh, you know, don't hurt him.

The debate over fighting has returned to NHL circles. And if you're a fan of the occasional scrap, you probably didn't have a very good week.

Players like Rick DiPietro, Colton Orr and Derek Boogaard are still on the sidelines due to serious injuries suffered in fights. Then word came last week that the late Bob Probert was suffering from a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated head trauma. Before fans could fully absorb that news, Edmonton Oilers' number one overall draft pick Taylor Hall had his rookie season ended by an ankle injury suffered in his first career fight.

So here we go again. It seems that the fighting debate has been raging for decades. And while it's lead to hours of heated rhetoric, there's little evidence of anyone ever actually changing their mind.

But maybe that can change. I've spoken to experts on both sides of the issue, and I've captured their best arguments below. For the first time, here are both sides of hockey's greatest debate presented side-by-side. Maybe, just maybe, we can settle this once and for all.

Pro-fighting: Banning fighting would eliminate the chance of a fight between Matt Cooke and Sean Avery that the linesmen could just "forget" to break up.

Anti-fighting: Fights are nothing more than quasi-exciting but ultimately demeaning sideshows that don't showcase any actual hockey skills and have no place in the game, and these days we have the shootout for that.

Pro-fighting: Without the threat of fighting, noble enforcers like Jody Shelley and Trevor Gillies would be unable to protect their teammates from despicable cheap-shot artists like Jody Shelley and Trevor Gillies.

Anti-fighting: Let's face it, nobody really likes having fighting in the game except for ignorant know-nothings like fans, most general managers and coaches, and virtually every single player.

Pro-fighting: Getting rid of fighting would just result in every episode of Coach's Corner being nothing more than a seven-minute diatribe about no-touch icing,

Anti-fighting: If punching somebody in the face at a hockey game is outlawed, only outlaws will punch somebody in the face at a hockey game. And Flyer fans. Actually, mostly Flyer fans.

Pro-fighting: If we just hold off on doing anything to address the rapidly growing list of players lost to concussions for another year or two, all of us will eventually get to play in the NHL for a few games.

Anti-fighting: Mike Milbury has historically been pro-fighting.

Pro-fighting: Wait, Mike Milbury is now apparently anti-fighting.

Anti-fighting: Fighting is an outdated concept that may have made sense for previous generations but has no place in the modern game, like goalies playing without masks or an NHL team in Winnipeg.

Pro-fighting: The inability to regularly write simplistic and condescending anti-fighting columns could spell the end of the already struggling newspaper industry.

Anti-fighting: Studies have shown that a total ban on fighting would increase hockey viewership by 20% in the southern United States, because Tom says he's pretty sure he'd start watching.

Pro-fighting: Hey, remember when they had fighting in NHL 93 and then they took it out for NHL 94? Which one did you like better? Exactly.

Anti-fighting: In addition to being overpaid and overrated based on last year's Cup run, Niemi is known to snore loudly on team flights and often plays bad Finnish pop music on the Sharks' team stereo. (Editor's note: Wait, sorry, this should have been listed as an "Antti fighting" argument.)

Pro-fighting: Players engaging in fights face the possibility of devastating injury and even long-term disability, which is a risk that I as a fan sitting in my easy chair have decided I am willing to accept.

Anti-fighting: Eliminating fighting would send a strong message to impressionable children that settling a dispute by knocking somebody unconscious with your fists is unacceptable; instead, use your rock solid shoulder pad like a gentleman would.

The 2010 NHL Draft Liveblog

11:00 - The Islanders trade up to the 30th pick, and have their selection announced by Scott Wolf from Party of Five. And with that, the first round is over.

Thanks to everyone for dropping by tonight. Enjoy rounds two through seven tomorrow.

And hey, why didn't Tomas Kaberle get traded?

10:50 - Hey, here's a question: if I have the 25th pick, and I trade it for the 20th pick, did I just move "higher" or "lower" in the draft?

You're not sure, are you? Doesn't it seem strange that we've had decades of pro sports drafts and we don't know the answer to this question? Can we get this figured out? Somebody call the guys a Behind the Net and get them working on this.

10:45 - Wouldn't it be fantastic if a player who had just been drafted responded to Gary Bettman's handshake by leaning into his face and yelling "BOOOOOO"?

No? OK, moving on.

10:20 - We finally get confirmation on that Canucks/Panthers deal involving Keith Ballard. Meanwhile, TSN is showing photos of a child with a broken leg on a tricycle. Five picks to go. God help me.

10:00 - The Habs trade up for Jarred Tinordi. Fun fact: his father Mark played for the North Stars, was a defenceman, and had a career record of 0-437 against Wendel Clark.

9:50 - I have no idea who Pittsburgh just drafted, but when he pulled on a Penguins jersey with "10" on it, the entire Senators organization had a Gary Roberts flashback and fled the building.

9:40 - Brian Burke is interviewed on TSN and mentions turning down a first round pick for a defenceman. Duthie assumes it's Kaberle, Burke says no, Duthie asks for a name and Burke says "none of your business".

Is it me, or didn't we already know that Burke turned down a deal for Schenn this week. I thought we knew that. Didn't we know that?

9:15 - Sens are up. Bryan Murray is furiously shouting into a cell phone, leading to trade speculation. My guess: he's checking with the security to make sure Brian Burke isn't going to swoop in and steal his pick again.

9:10 - And we have a trade! The Kings trade up to #15.

Here's my question: for 364 days a year, it takes the NHL hours to confirm a trade. Just a few days ago, the Hawks/Thrashers deal took about six hours to go through all the league approvals. On deadline day, deals get announced throughout the evening because of delays.

But during the draft, a trade can get be made in five minutes. Why?

Does the NHL stop reviewing deals on draft night? Do they hire a second guy to work the phones? Do they outsource the customer service center to India for a night? How does this work? Am I using too many question marks? I think I am.

8:55 - The Coyotes wind up with top five prospect Brandon Gormley. They were using a pick they got from the Flames, by the way. For Olli Jokinen. Leaf fans, you can start feeling slightly better about yourself... now.

8:35 - The Rangers just passed up Fowler and Gormley for Dylan McIlrath. In related news, Pierre McGuire's eyebrows are floating six inches over his head right now.

8:30 - Six-word phrases that make me happy:

#3 - "That cheerleader thinks bloggers are sexy."

#2 - "Yes sir, it's an open bar."

#1 - "We have a trade to announce."

Needless to say, I'm 0-for-3 tonight.

8:20 - I'm going off-topic here, but can somebody explain to me what the deal is with the NBA draft? I don't follow basketball, but whenever I watch their draft there seems to be about three good players before you start hearing phrases like:

"With the fourth overall pick, they take a guy he doesn't know how to dribble yet."

"With the fifth overall pick, they take a guy who is seven feet tall and comes from a country where they have no basketballs."

"With the sixth overall pick, they take a guy with a bad hip and a deformed hand."

Hm, OK, maybe that last one was a bad example.

8:05 - Lightning GM Steve Yzerman picks Brett Connolly at #6. The TSN panel doesn't like the choice, until Bob Probert shows up and pummels them all.

7:45 - Pierre McGuire on the Blue Jackets pick Ryan Johansen: "He's really good. And he's only going to get better." Yes, that's certainly an important quality for an 18-year-old draft pick to have.

7:30 - The Bruins take Seguin. Hey, obscure trivia: did you know this pick once belonged to the Leafs? It's true. Gord Miller just mentioned it 9,000 times.

7:25 - The Bruins will take their full 15 minutes to make this pick. Because it's a really hard decision.

7:15 - It's official: Hall is the Oiler pick. He hugged his family, kissed his girlfriend, then pulled out his cellphone and called his agent to demand a trade as he was walking to the stage.

6:50 - We're almost ready to go. No word yet on who the Oilers will be picked.

Meanwhile, the other intrigue right now is a potential Keith Ballard trade. Which would be fantastic, because I could use the leftover "hit your own goalie in the head" jokes that I didn't get to use in December.

"I'm glad I got drafted first, because
no one remembers number two"

5:00 - Welcome to the 2010 NHL Draft liveblog. Tonight, hockey fans will finally get answers to questions such as:

• Where will Tomas Kaberle be traded?
  
• Will the Oilers take Taylor or Tyler with the #1 pick?
  
• Will the Panthers use the #3 pick on that one guy, or that other slightly taller guy?
  
• If the Leafs don't have any picks, why does TSN keep showing Brian Burke every few minutes?
  
• Does Gary Bettman practice looking insufferably smug in the mirror, or is he just a natural?
  
• Wait, Burke's on the phone! Is he trading Tomas Kaberle!
  
• Has there ever been a draft pick that Pierre McGuire didn't like?
  
• And hey, why didn't Tomas Kaberle get traded?

I'll be updating throughout the first round. I'll also be on Twitter, and maybe even Facebook. (Did you know I was Facebook? I'm on Facebook. Nobody knows I'm on Facebook.) Everything gets going at 7:00 EST.

In the meantime, here's a thought: There's been a recent trend in sports drafts of teams letting players announce their picks. The Capitals had Ovechkin do it a few years back, and there's a rumor that the Penguins may have Crosby do it today. I'd like to see more of this. I know most teams would rather use the opportunity to give the assistant director of scouting (aka "Mr. Electricity") some face time, but there's a lot of untapped potential here.

Such as: If you're the Boston Bruins, don't you fly in Tuuka Rask to make the #2 overall pick tonight? Wouldn't that be the greatest anti-Maple Leaf moment of all-time? Wouldn't TSN have to break out a split screen so they could show Brian Burke sitting at the Leafs table trying to swallow his own tongue?

Do it, Chiarelli.

Google's new Maple Leafs TV ad

Some of you may have seen this already, but Google has started running a new version of its Super Bowl ad. As far as I can tell, this ad is only running in Toronto, and it certainly seems to be targeting fans of a certain hockey team.

Not sure about you, but I'd say Google has done a pretty good job of understanding us.

Update: In case you're wondering, Google and Youtube have released an online app that makes it easy to create your own parody ads. Plenty of hockey ones are already showing up, including:

• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Leafs
  
• Toronto media
  
• Flyers
  
• Flyers
  
• Flyers
  
• Canucks
  
• Canucks
  
• Flames
  
• Flames
  
• Flames
  
• Blues
  
• Penguins
  
• Habs
  
• Habs
  
• Habs
  
• Habs
  
• Oilers
  
• Coyotes
  
• Sabres
  
• Rangers
  
• Islanders
  
• Islanders
  
• Capitals
  
• Capitals
  
• Capitals
  
• Capitals
  
• Capitals
  
• Wings
  
• Sens
  
• Sens
  

April Fools - NHL style

It's April 1, and here at Down Goes Brown that means two things: the Leafs have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and it's time for the annual April Fools post.

So just like in 2008 and 2009, let's see if we can come up with some practical jokes and wacky pranks that various NHL personalities could play on each other today.

Marc Savard - Playfully tease Matt Cooke when he asks if you've forgiven him by blinking twice for "no" instead of once for "yes".

Taylor Hall - Call Brian Burke; tell him you just checked the standings and are wondering why no Leafs scouts ever come to your games.

Phoenix Coyotes - Send out season ticket renewal forms with a Winnipeg return address.

Alexander Ovechkin - Scare Ted Leonsis by telling him that you were a regular client of that steroid-dealing chiropractor. Quickly reassure him that in truth you've never even seen a chiropractor, since you've never suffered from any back problems at all unless you want to count all that acne.

2K Sports - Pick some random second-liner from an insignificant team; tell him he's been chosen for the cover of NHL 2K11.

Stephane Auger - Before tonight's game, inform one of the players that you're planning to "get him", when in fact you're really planning to get a completely different player.

Gary Bettman - Make a hilarious announcement that blindside hits will now result in suspensions but not penalties, as if any self-respecting league would ever do such a thing.

Joe Thornton - Completely forget how to be an effective hockey player. (Not actually a prank; more of an annual April tradition.)

Pat Quinn - Tell team that it's really important to give their best effort during their remaining games because they still matter somehow.

Mario Lemieux - Over breakfast, jokingly suggest to Sidney Crosby that maybe it's time for him to move out and get his own place like an actual man would do.

Jonathan Toews - Confuse Blackhawk fans by posing for a massive highway billboard next to a strange trophy none of them have ever seen before.

Florida Panthers - During boring team meeting, throw paper airplane at David Booth that hits him right in the head! Ha, he never even saw -- oh god, I think we killed him.

Shane O'Brien - When the bartender asks if you want to buy another round, humorously reply "No thank you, because I am a professional athlete and I have practice tomorrow".

The bright side: Six good things about six awful losses

Source: PBF

A few people pinged me on twitter recently to ask if there would be a new DGB post this week. Apparently, some Leaf fans could use some cheering up.

My initial reaction was that writing anything vaguely amusing these days would be all but impossible. After all, I have Center Ice, a television, and two functioning eyes. Those eyes are red from crying and/or having steel wool jammed into them, but they're still functioning. Unfortunately.

On top of that, optimism isn't really my thing. I've tried it in the past and it didn't go well. I tend to do better at depressing people.

But the people have spoken, and I'm up for a challenge. Let's see if we can't come up with a few positives from all of this.

OK, here we go!

Um...

Man.

No, wait. I can do this, dammit. Let's make it happen. In honor of the Leafs losing six straight games to start the season, let's see if we can at least come up with six good things about the season so far.

1. When the Leafs signed Mike Komisarek, some people mocked the signing because they said he was a one-dimensional player who couldn't score. It sure didn't take long for him to prove them wrong, did it?

2. Remember how the big story during training camp the last two years was whether the hotshot prospect (Schenn, Kadri) should stay in Toronto or go back to junior, with everyone weighing in and arguing ad nauseum about for weeks? It got kind of annoying, didn't it?

Well imagine how out-of-hand it would be next year with Taylor Hall. Thanks for taking care of that one in advance, Burkie!

3. With every loss, we get closer and closer to the inevitable moment when Ron Wilson responds to a postgame media question by screaming "take his pen!", sprinting across the podium and diving into the press pit like Axl Rose.

The over/under on this happening is December 1st, by the way.

4. After we lose to the Rangers on Saturday, the Leafs don't play for a full week. That's about 165 hours without any action at all. And there's an excellent chance that during that time, our rebuilt defence won't allow more than five or six goals. Eight, tops.

5. Remember back when the Leafs used to make the playoffs, and a critical game would go into overtime? Remember the almost unbearable tension, how it felt like a weight on your chest that threatened to crush you underneath it?

Yeah. You're not going to have to worry about feeling that way again for a long time.

6. Scientists say that eventually the earth will crash into the sun. If Leaf fans have any luck, it could happen tomorrow.

Hmm. I may need to work on this whole "finding the bright side" thing. Luckily it looks like I'll get lots of practice this year.