The NHL Column: Life is Hull, Jersey Heroes, the Vezina, Young Wings

Every Monday, Christopher Botta takes a spin around the league with notes, observations and opinions. We call it The NHL Column.

A decade later, I still remember the lone voice after the Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres in overtime of Game 6 to win the Stanley Cup. Working the Finals in a PR capacity at the invitation of the NHL, my job was to immediately drag the game's hero to a few quick interviews. I did not see Brett Hull's overtime goal.

When Hull scored, the 18,000 fans in the Buffalo arena sat in stunned silence while about 30-40 Dallas players, coaches, trainers and staffers partied like it was 1999. Then, as my fellow league operatives and I were about to go to work, an ominous voice sounding like Kiefer Sutherland came over our walkie-talkies:

"Oh boy ... Hull was in the crease."

Although I never identified the speaker, I recall the voice every time there's a controversial NHL ruling that costs a team a game. This seems to happen at least once every other week, most recently Saturday, when Steve Ott scored a phantom shootout goal to give Dallas (again!) a win.

Although referee Rob Martelli took up more of the crease than Hull did a decade ago and determined Ott's shot did not cross the goal line, he was overruled by colleague Mike Leggo, who was 20 feet away, and by the league's video replay room in Toronto.

Mistakes happen, but the NHL's decision to rule-and-hide on Saturday was unconscionable. If the league is so confident in its process, why weren't Martelli and Leggo made available to the press after the game? Why didn't the league release the replay that officials decided was irrefutable proof the puck crossed the goal line?

Just a week ago, a Pittsburgh Penguins television producer was suspended for not revealing all the camera angles at his disposal on a controversial play. Add to this the Alex Burrows/Stephane Auger incident and the league appears to have made a New Year's resolution to sweep major issues under the rug.

Even if it means acknowledging a mistake like they do in the NFL, the NHL needs transparency on rulings that cost teams games. Just imagine if this happens in the Stanley Cup Finals again. Oh boy.


A group of disabled athletes next weekend will embark on a 1,370-mile journey to visit 54 New Jersey ice rinks in 54 hours. The group of young and adult athletes, under the banner of EveryBODY Skates New Jersey, is on a mission to motivate the state's rink owners into allocating one hour of icetime each week for disabled hockey players.

Their journey will begin at the NHL Store in NYC on Jan. 29 and culminate with a stop at a 54th and final rink, the Prudential Center in Newark on Jan. 31. The athletes, supported by the NHL and USA Hockey, will be honored by the New Jersey Devils at their 5:00 pm home game against Los Angeles.

"Nearly 1.4 million disabled people live in New Jersey," said Jon Schwartz, co-founder of ESNJ who with his brother Andrew is leading the dozen disabled athletes. "Our group is helping New Jersey's disabled discover and participate in hockey -- the ultimate occupational therapy."

To lend your support, visit www.everybodyskates.com.



1 . Ryan Miller, Buffalo: Among No. 1 goalies, Miller is first in goals against average and save percentage, second in wins and shutouts. Sometimes the statistics really do paint the complete picture.

Vezina Breakdown
	W	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%
Ryan Miller	26	8	4	5	2.01	.936
Martin Brodeur	29	13	1	6	2.14	.923
Ilya Bryzgalov	25	12	4	5	2.27	.919
Miikka Kiprusoff	23	13	6	3	2.15	.926
Craig Anderson	23	11	5	3	2.62	.919

2. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey: First in wins and shutouts this season and in the all-time NHL record books. Maybe next season is the one Brodeur starts to slow down. Riiiight.

3. Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix: The Johnstown Coyotes needed their goalie to be their best player this season, and The Bryz has been remarkable. Probably has stolen more points for his team this season than any goalie in the NHL.

4. Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary: With brand-name defensemen Dion Phaneuf and Jay Bouwmeester in front of him, you'd think Kiprusoff wouldn't have to do the heavy lifting. He does, as evidenced by his .926 save percentage. He's the only goalie on this list with more than 1,200 saves this season.

5. Craig Anderson, Colorado: There are at least a half-dozen worthy contenders for the fifth spot, but Anderson gets the nod for carrying a team that entered the season seemingly destined for the draft lottery.


Ken Holland likes his Red Wings prospects to be what he calls "over-ripe." In translation, the Detroit general manager would rather promote his young players from the AHL too late than burn them out with too much too soon. From his years as a minor league goaltender to now as one of the game's best builders, Holland knows the history of pro hockey is littered with talented kids who never developed properly because they were over-burdened.

So it's no surprise Detroit has survived, at times even flourished, during a rocky, injury-filled season because of the contributions of over-ripe, home-grown Red Wings such as Darren Helm (pictured right) and Jimmy Howard.

"They've come through the system, were coached well in the minors and now they're taking advantage of the opportunity," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "They've been a big part of us getting through the tough patches this season."

Howard played four full seasons for Grand Rapids of the AHL before winning Detroit's No. 1 job this season. With a 2.16 GAA and .929 save percentage over 32 games, Howard is a contender for the Calder Trophy.

Helm's speed and relentless attacking style were so prevalent in the last two Stanley Cup Finals that it's easy to forget he's turning all of 23 next week and was a fifth round pick in 2005. This year Helm has become Babcock's best forechecker and leads the team with a pair of shorthanded goals.

Holland joked to FanHouse, "It would be tough to send Darren back down now, you know?"


By declaring he'll run with two inexperienced goalies with Nikolai Khabibulin sidelined after back surgery, make no mistake: Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini if okay if his team "descends rapidly" (h/t Brian Burke). The Oilers need a franchise player more than 10th place, and Tambellini is right to go through the pain of 35 more games to get one at the top of the draft lottery ...

General managers waiting for the Blackhawks to shed cap space by trading Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg or Brian Campbell should not bother to call Chicago before the March 3 deadline. GM Stan Bowman may have a frantic offseason, but he's not about to break up the deepest team in the league. He can always get Bob Gainey to over-pay and take a big contract in the summer.

Advice to Ron MacLean: don't include your cuddle with Colin Campbell in your Foster Hewitt Award clip montage.

Garth Snow has no compelling reason to give away Martin Biron for anything less than a third-round pick. Biron, a good goalie and better man, knew exactly what he was signing up for when he got $1.4 million from the Islanders after the UFA goalie game of musical chairs left him without a seat. If Snow cannot get reasonably fair value, he can keep Biron for depth behind Dwayne Roloson and Rick DiPietro.

Didn't you used to be ... Marek Svatos?

Under-the-Radar Potential UFAs, West: Jonas Hiller, G, Anaheim; Rene Bourque, LW, Calgary; Eric Nystrom, LW, Calgary; Milan Jurcina, D, Columbus; Steve Ott, LW, Dallas; Randy Jones, D, Los Angeles; Derek Boogaard, LW, Minnesota; Marek Zidlicky, D, Minnesota; Dan Ellis, G, Nashville; Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville; Zbynek Michalek, D, Phoenix; Chris Mason, G, St. Louis; Willie Mitchell, D, Vancouver.

Question: Is Chris Osgood a Hall of Famer? Respond in the comments space.

Hail to the Writers: Larry Brooks, New York Post; George Richards, Miami Herald

Today's Three Stars: 3. Geoff Sanderson 2. Sergio Momesso 1. Mark Howe