SB Nation - Wade Belak

Predators tough guy Wade Belak kicks off Puck Daddy podcast "Puck Tracks"

Dirk Hoag — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:27:53 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

As part of their effort to dominate the hockey media, the Puck Daddy blog over at Yahoo Sports has launched a new podcast called "Puck Tracks", and who did they select as their inaugural guest? None other than Nashville's own Wade Belak...

You can check it out after the jump:

Puck Tracks Episode 1: Wade Belak @ Yahoo! Video

As the fists flew between Nashville and Tampa Bay, where was Belak?

Dirk Hoag — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:41:05 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Nashville Predators defenseman Kevin Klein, left, fought with Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Stephane Veilleux in the second period last night.

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Recently I wrote that Wade Belak seems to be held up from fulfilling his natural role as an enforcer on this Nashville Predators team. Despite well-deserved caution over taking needless penalties, when opponents start taking liberties and the physical play escalates, that's the situation where your heavyweight needs to turn the tide, doing the dirty work that he is best suited for. With just 3 fights so far, Belak spends most games sitting on the bench or watching from the press box.

This question naturally came up again last night as the Predators piled up a big lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a number of fights broke out along the way. While they fired up the home crowd, the thought of a key defenseman like Shea Weber or Kevin Klein breaking a finger during a needless scrap is terrifying for a team that has the talent to compete in the West, but not the depth to handle significant losses.

So what do you think? Given that Belak was in the lineup last night, did it make sense for him to skate only 2 shifts in the third period? If he's not going to be allowed to make an impact, would the Preds be better served by benching him and dressing someone like Dave Scatchard instead?

Game 33 Preview: Jackets in tough against the Preds

Mike MacLean — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:08:16 -0000

by Carlos Osorio - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Every year I always seem to say this: those damned Preds! Nashville comes to town for the first time this season, after going 2-0 so far against the Jackets in Nashville. The Jackets have dug themselves in a hole whereby they have to win games from here out, plain and simple. They play in the best division in hockey so intra-division games are crucial.

Some lineup changes of note- Chimmer moves up with Vermmy and Nasher, and there's a new line of Modin, Brass and Torres. That one sounds interesting, a little bit of everything. With Dorsett out with a broken hand, Murray goes back into the lineup on the checking unit with Sammy and Boller. Mase gets the start against Rinne.

I can't stress the importance of these games. The Jackets desperately need to go on a winning streak, why not start tonight?

Fearless Prediction: A win, please.

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: On the Forecheck

Game Page: Predators vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Predators vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

A meeting of polar opposites: The Blue Jackets are a skilled club that lacks resiliency and on-ice cohesion; the Predators make up for a lack of high-end talent with immense resolve. The previous two meetings, both in Nashville, ended in 4-3 shootout wins for the Predators. The Blue Jackets won all three meetings in Nationwide Arena last season.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Jason Chimera	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Kristian Huselius	R.J. Umberger	Jakub Voracek
Andrew Murray	Samuel Pahlsson	Jared Boll
Fredrik Modin	Derick Brassard	Raffi Torres

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Marc Methot

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Michael Blunden, Mathieu Roy

INJURED: Rostislav Klesla, Derek Dorsett

Nashville Predators

Steve Sullivan	Jason Arnott	Martin Erat
Jerred Smithson	David Legwand	Joel Ward
Patric Hornqvist	Marcel Goc	J.P. Dumont
Wade Belak	Dave Scatchard	Ryan Jones

Shea Weber	Ryan Suter
Dan Hamhuis	Kevin Klein
Alexander Sulzer	Francis Bouillon

Pekka Rinne

Dan Ellis

Let Wade Belak off the leash, already!

Dirk Hoag — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:04:19 -0000

Part of the disappointment from last night's 5-3 loss to Minnesota was the fact that the Nashville Predators didn't seem to respond well once they got behind. Despite four power play chances in the 1st period, the Preds were outshot 10-7 and down on the scoreboard 2-1. Things only got worse in the 2nd, as the Wild outshot them 18-9 and added two more goals to the lead.

In light of the fact that Patric Hornqvist was a healthy scratch, the question on the minds of many Predators fans was why Wade Belak had such a quiet night. To put it bluntly, why didn't he go out and pound the snot out of one of those guys in green, red & white?

Let's be clear about Wade Belak is, and isn't, at the NHL level:

He's not here to score goals (8 in 509 career games);
He's not here to play lock-down defense;
He's not fast enough to forecheck effectively like Tootoo does, but
He's a legitimate heavyweight NHL enforcer

On a Saturday night at home, down by a couple goals and getting outshot consistently, that would seem to be a perfect opportunity to send a guy like Belak out there to start something and get both the team and the crowd into the game. Instead, he sat on the bench, took 3-4 shifts a period and was basically invisible, rather than invincible.

The point is, Belak, within his role, can be a useful player - take a look at this video courtesy of HockeyFights.com, from a game in January 2007 when Wade was still a Maple Leaf:

First he puts a good hit on Florida's captain, Olli Jokinen, and then gets into a scrap with Bryan Allen who comes over to stick up for his star. Wade's patience, balance and strength come together and he wins a solid decision. Not only does a fight like that get the fans excited, but it absolutely pumps up his teammates and sets the other team back on their heels a bit.

Especially when you're losing early in a home game, a fight like that can change the momentum of a game. The potential downside, of course, is that (1) you can draw an extra minor for Instigating and have to kill off a power play, and (2) your guy could lose the fight badly and really let the air out of the team's tires.

As far as #1 goes, that's the cost of doing business, and Nashville's PK is generally a team strength. And for #2, that's not very likely as Belak is a guy I'm confident going up against anyone in the league. Besides, when you're already staring at a 2-goal deficit, maintaining the status quo isn't a winning option.

Was Belak only dressed because Derek Boogaard was going to play for Minnesota, and thus was there as an insurance policy in case the Boogie Man stirred up trouble? The rest of the Preds appear to have enough toughness to handle themselves in the face of such aggression, and you'd hate to see roster decisions made in reaction to what the other team is doing - it's preferable to put your best lineup out there and force the other guy to react.

In my humble opinion, the Preds need marginal offensive contributions from their 4th-line players, and would be better served by having a guy like Hornqvist taking up that final spot. If this were a team that could rely on three forward lines to carry the action, perhaps they could afford to dress an enforcer who plays 5 minutes a game, flashing the badge on occasion to protect the talent.

But they aren't. Nashville remains around the bottom of the NHL in goals scored, and could use one more forward storming the opposition net more than an enforcer who scores one every year or two.

If he is going to play, however, that enforcer needs to be used.

Aggressively.

Wade Belak

#3 / Right Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-5

Weight: 223

Born: Jul 03, 1976

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Wade Belak	14	0	1	1	0	19	0	0	0	0	2	0.0

Capitals destroy Panthers 6-2; does it matter?

Whale4ever — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:35:46 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

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As an ardent Cats fan and dedicated blogger who covers the Panthers, a recap of Thursday's embarrassment in Washington would prove to be a pointless exercise. No offense to the Capitals, who played a masterful game in all zones; it's simply time I vented.

So for that reason (and about a dozen others) I'll let loose what's on my mind.

We'll get the positives out of the way first: I firmly believe - and will defend to the end - that every member of the Florida Panthers cares.

All of them has a burning desire to win. Each will go to war for the other, and do everything within their power to be victorious; against all odds and deficits, to bring two points to his club in the standings and carry this team to a place it hasn't tasted since before many of their fans were able to walk independently: the postseason. We've all seen the heart and soul each of them bring to the table every game. The new ownership appears to be solidly behind the hockey operation - at least in words at this early stage - which was highly questionable during the latter portion of Alan Cohen's regime. Coach Peter DeBoer is a winner, just not yet at this level. General manager Randy Sexton has presumably done all he's been allowed to do.

I've spoken, emailed, and IM'd with many employees of the organization. They'd stop just short of giving their first (and in some cases second) child if it would help the club win. Dedicated to a fault; even those who were thrown to the ground by previous regimes. And there are more than a few.

This team has a lot of fans within - and so many more just outside the large bay windows ringing the BAC.

On the negative side: this team sucks. As currently constituted, they cannot compete in this league, much less their own division. Speaking of the Southeast, here's their record: 1-6 against the division, the lone win coming against a reeling Carolina club. This is no way to blaze a glorious trail to, well, anything even approaching prosperity. Got to be better news within the stats, right? Attend: through Wednesday's games (and it's worse now), Florida was 24th in wins, 5th in losses, 21st in goals scored per game, 27th in goals allowed, and it snowballs from there.

They can't hold a lead...in any period. Power plays should be declined, as has been suggested time and again. They ended a five-game winless streak Wednesday by blowing four two-goal leads and getting lucky - yeah, I said it - in the shootout after Stephen Weiss won it in the fifth round. Fifth round. He scored a natural hattrick in regulation and was shelved until the fifth round. What is that??? Which blackboard was DeBoer reading from?

Far too many nights they spot the opposition a freebie lead, which typically ends up being too high a mountain to overcome. Leaving out the anomaly that was the 3 for 3 performance against Colorado (get the impression the Avs' collective brain just wasn't in it?), the Cats can't buy a special teams goal. They did against Washington on Thursday, in the form of a shortie, but along with 75-cent seats, the Panthers are quite generous.

What about individuals? "Cats aren't tough enough!" we screamed, leading to the re-acquisition of hard-hitting forward Steve MacIntyre. Got his claws on Donald Brashear and Colton Orr, but following that quick spell, he was reassigned to Rochester. Smells a lot like quickie fan-favorite Wade Belak. We're all aware DeBoer does not prefer giving a roster spot to 3-4 minute guys who won't contribute in any other way, but the Cats have been pounded otherwise. Think Weiss or Steven Reinprecht is gonna go with some of the monsters employed around the East? And what of Mike Duco, just called up from the "A", getting a billion penalty minutes against the Caps (at a point which ultimately didn't matter on the scoreboard)...wanna bet he's on a one-way Greyhound back to rural New York?

Lost in all the recently announced partnerships - imagine an empannage embedded anywhere but at BankAtlantic Center - is the hockey team. Dreams of shopping, dancing, dining, and who-knows-what-else have overshadowed the presence of the item that made all of the dreaming possible.

Florida's hockey fans deserve far better than what they've been handed. We continue to tune in, show up, buy the goods, shout across the web, tell our friends, recruit coworkers, blog till we're blue, and endlessly accept the manure that's been strewn our way. And there's been a lot of it.

Why? Because we're hockey fans. Slavishly loyal and fiercely proprietary over "our" team, we're no different than any other group of followers in the NHL. Treat us as such. The players deserve it, the employees of the club deserve it, and the fans deserve it.

We're fed up, we're tired, and we've got lots of options to spend our money on in this part of the world. For one small moment in time, give us a winner.

It may just be cost-effective.

Minnesota Wild vs. Nashville Predators: Game Recap

nathaneide — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:33:34 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

20 days ago: Minnesota Wild center Andrew Ebbett (16) celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime with teammate Guillaume Latendresse (48) in an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 in St. Paul, Minn. The Wild won 5-4. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

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Minnesota Wild 5-4 (ot) Nashville Predators

You can never miss a Predators - Wild matchup. These two teams always seem to play an up-tempo, exciting, hotly contested game. They're typically very enjoyable to watch. Tonight was absolutely no different.

Tonight, Guillaume Latendresse showed what having a true power forward can do for a team, when the guy is willing to use his size, and exercise his will on the opposition. On numerous occasions, Lats either drove to the net to make a play, or forced a turnover by taking the body, or used his power down low to keep a play alive. He was snake bitten, hitting three pipes, but that didn't stop him from getting the third Wild goal of the first period and forcing the play in overtime on the Andrew Ebbett winner.

It's nice to see guys like Ebbett and Latendresse fitting in so well right off the bat. After he game, Ebbett was asked how he's fitting in with the Wild and he said "I wasn't having fun in Chicago, and haven't had fun playing since the playoffs last season. I'm having fun with this team" and that's the key to me. He looks like he's having fun out there, and it's contagious. Ebbett, Latendresse, Brodziak and Clutterbuck are providing enough energy to spark the guys like Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen and others. They are clearly feeding off each other, and it's showing. The Wild have points in each of their last five games, and seem to be clicking offensively. Now, if we can get the defense to catch up (and that means forwards paying attention to their defensive responsibilities too) then we can really see what this new system can do.

Please read the game recap over at On the Forecheck

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Guillaume Latendresse (1 G, 1 A)
Mikko Koivu (1 G, 1 A)
Steve Sullivan (1 G, 3 A)

Questions to Answer

Are the Wild going to be rusty after the time off? They got off to a decent start, then fell asleep for the second period, then came roaring back in the third.
With Jordin Tootoo back in the lineup for Nashville, will he get under the skin of the Wild, and can someone please knock his teeth out? Tootoo's antics were absent. I like that. The only real scuffle was the boring fight between Wade Belak and Derek Boogaard, which looked like two enforcers looking to prove they still belong.
Will taking Chuck Kobasew off the first line affect his great play since moving up there? Kobasew was a -2 tonight. He definitely needs to find a line and build some chemistry.
Will moving Martin Havlat to the fourth line send a message, or will he find good chemistry with Andrew Ebbett? Didn't really notice Havlat much, but with Ebbett and Latendresse, the Wild found a great combo platter.
Will the cutting of the mustache be like Samson cutting his hair? Definitely not offensively. Too bad the defense was beyond poor tonight.

Your Toronto Maple Leafs: How Did We Get Here?

mf37 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:32:36 -0000

An anonymous comment over at my blog Bitter Leaf Fan raised the question of how exactly the Leafs arrived in their current mess.

There’s not a single cause or easy explantion.

This franchise has gone through three, maybe even four, different phases since 2000, however; with the exception of one small window, all of these phases have focused on the short-term, sacrificing picks and prospects for a supposed fix.

After the jump, a look at the Leafs' propensity to deal away the future and the pile of pocket lint, loose change and used gum wrappers they got in return.

Pre-Lockout

The Pat Quinn teams of the early 2000s were powerful clubs. Each made the playoffs and several flirted with 100 point seasons. They combined a nice mix of talent and flair (Sundin, Mogilny) with grit (Roberts, Tucker) and solid goaltending (Cujo, Belfour).

These teams were often legitimate threats to go deep in the post season and on more than one occasion it was widely thought they could challenge for a cup. As a result, these teams made a number of trades where the future was sacrificed for the present. There was a small window of success and the Leafs went for it, selling off the future in the hopes of a big pay-day.

In 2003, the Leafs trade Brad Boyes (2000 1st round pick), Alyn McCauley and a 1st round pick for Owen Nolan

In 2004, the Leafs trade two prospects, a 1st and 2nd round pick for Brian Leetch.

In addition to dealing away those three first round picks, the Leafs also had some bad luck when their 1999 first round selection (and WJC 1st team all-star) Luca Cereda had to hang up his skates due to health complications with his heart.

From 1999 to 2004, the Leafs emerged with just two first round draft picks: Carlo Colaiacovo and Alexander Steen. Both would later be traded to St. Louis for Lee Stempniak.

The Missing Years

John Ferguson Junior’s tenure was like a ship lost at sea…or maybe it was a ship that kept running into ice bergs…or a lost ship, on fire, that kept hitting ice bergs. Choose your own nautical disaster metaphor and, in keeping with JFJ’s reign of error, the more apocalyptic and dire your selection the more accurate it will be.

Ferguson was GM from the 2004 to 2007 drafts.

Out of those five drafts, he managed to hold on to his first round pick in just once – giving the franchise Jiri Tlusty and a whole lotta NSFW jokes.

Unable to shake-off the "win now!" edict from the MLSE board, in just two years Ferguson sacrificed two first, a second and a fourth round pick in an effort to shore-up the team’s goaltending. Some four years later, goaltending remains a position of weakness that hasn’t been adequately addressed.

JFJ's draft day magic:

The 2005 first round pick (Tukka Rask) dealt for Andrew Raycroft.
The 2006 first round pick was Jiri Tlusty.
The 2007 first round and second round picks (along with a 2009 4th) to San Jose for Vesa Toskala.
The 2008 second round pick to Phoenix for Yannic Perreault.

Draft Schmaft Redux?

In 2008, Cliff Fletcher was brought in to try to move out the NTCs/NMCs on the club and start the, ahem, rebuilding process.

Given the need to get more talent into the system, he made some, shall we say, curious moves:

A swap of first round picks, 2008 3rd round pick, 2009 2nd round pick for Luke Schenn
2008 3rd round pick for Jamal Mayers
2008 4th round pick to get rid of Bryan McCabe
2008 5th round pick for Ryan Hollwegg
2010 2nd round pick for Mikhail Grabovski

In fairness to Fletcher, he also acquired a small parcel of picks:

2008 2nd round pick and a 2009 5th round pick for Hal Gill
2008 3rd round pick for Chad Kilger
2008 5th round pick for Wade Belak

An Eye for Talent? Um. Not really...

If you’re going to trade away picks and prospects, the returning players better pan out.

Clearly that has not been the case for the Leafs.

By my math, the Leafs traded five first round and three second round picks for the following return:

69 games from Owen Nolan.
28 games of Brian Leetch.
91 games (and 268 goals against) of Andrew Raycroft (plus a multi-year buyout)
17 games of Yanic Perreault
127 games (and counting) from Vesa Toskala

Stop and marvel at that return.

Five first and three third round picks for 332 games played (plus Toskala's starts until the end of the season).

I'll spare the Leaf defenders from doing the math - Brad Boyes, one of the former first rounders traded away, has played 347 NHL games, 15 more than this motley collection managed for the Leafs.

What's worse is that every single one of these players left the Leafs without a single asset coming back in return.

I'll wait while you drink it all in.

I don’t know about you, but I don't think there’s an adjective that can adequately summarize this. One could argue that only Bernie Madoff has done a worse job of asset management - and even that might be a stretch.

Making Mistakes Beyond the Draft

Even more painfully, that poor return only reflects the draft side of the equation.

The Leafs have not excelled in the free agency department (Blake, Finger), have made poor decisions in awarding NMCs and NTCs, and have made a series of poor decisions on talent retention – signing McCabe, Tucker and others to long-term deals rather than trading them at peak value. But I’ll save that rant/analysis for another day…

For now, in a nutshell, this is a good first step toward building a franchise that’s on target for a 50 point season and has limited options at hand.

Game Day Preview: Nashville Predators @ San Jose Sharks

Dirk Hoag — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:19:50 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

Tonight the Nashville Predators enter the HP Paviliion to take on Dan Boyle (22), Joe Thornton (19), and the rest of the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks.

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As they continue to battle their way through an early-season schedule loaded with road games, the Nashville Predators (7-7-1) head into San Jose to face a 12-4-2 Sharks team that has yet to lose in regulation on home ice. Last season, the Sharks won their first 9 home games before the Preds came to town and beat them in overtime. Does Nashville have it in them to break up another San Jose streak?

After the jump, let's break down the matchup...

Meet the Enemy

The Sharks have assumed their usual spot atop the Pacific Division, eclipsing the feel-good starts of both Los Angeles and Phoenix. San Jose won't be content with yet another successful regular season, however, they're geared for the playoffs, and that's what the acquisition of elite goal-scorer Dany Heatley was meant to address. There's also been a bit of a leadership shakeup, with defenseman Rob Blake taking over as team captain from Patrick Marleau.

As they continue to get healthy players back in the lineup, the forward lines are likely to look as follows, per Fear the Fin:

Heatley - Thornton - Setoguchi
Marleau - Pavelski - Clowe
McGinn - Malhotra - Ortmeyer
Shelley - Nichol - Vesce

Containing the top line is obviously going to be a challenge for any club, but the 2nd line is dangerous as well.

Fear the Fin also has the outlook for tonight from the San Jose perspective.

Meet the Good Guys

Nashville might also get a big name back in action tonight as Shea Weber was able to practice yesterday. Obviously it's critical to have your #1 defenseman available for a big game like this, but he's also the Preds' leading goal-scorer, too. If Weber does play, here's what the Preds should look like:

Forwards

Sullivan - Arnott - Hornqvist

Erat - Santorelli - Thuresson

Smithson- Legwand - Ward

Scatchard - Goc - Tootoo

Defense

Suter - Weber

Bouillon - Klein

Hamhuis - Franson

With Jody Shelley a possibility for San Jose, Wade Belak might skate for Nashville. We shouldn't be surprised, either, if Tootoo reacquaints himself with Brad Staubitz, who broke Tootoo's nose in a fight last year.

Even Strength Play

Team	GP	GF	GA	GF/60	Shots For/60	Sht %	GA/60	Shots Ag/60	Save %	+/- per 60
Nashville	15	19	25	1.6	26.5	6.1	2.1	29.2	.928	-0.5
San Jose	18	38	27	2.7	31.6	8.7	2.0	28.0	.930	+0.8

Just like last year, the Sharks are among the most prolific 5-on-5 shooting teams in the league, and a healthy advantage in Shots For/Against shows just how regularly they tilt the ice in their favor. While both teams boast superior goaltending in this situation, the difference really lies in shooting; not only do the Preds not put as many shots on net, but they don't score very often when they do; that 6.1 Shooting Percentage in 5-on-5 is 3rd-worst in the NHL.

San Jose PP vs. Nashville PK

At 25.3%, the San Jose power play is, as you'd expect, one of the most lethal in the NHL. What makes them doubly dangerous is that they get lots of PP opportunities, due to the high-skill forwards who force opponents into hauling them down.

The Nashville penalty killers are slowly improving after a wretched start, and currently sit 24th in the league. Already one of the least-penalized teams, the Preds will need to take special care to stay out of the box tonight.

Nashville PP vs. San Jose PK

Getting Weber back will provide a nice boost for the power play, which was just starting to click when he hurt his foot. At 12.3%, the Preds PP is still dead-last in the NHL, and it will be up to agitators like Jordin Tootoo to get under the Sharks' skin and create some chances for Nashville. San Jose is normally a pretty disciplined group, but with the bad blood between these two teams there could be some fireworks tonight.

Goaltending

Evgeni Nabokov continues to benefit from playing behind a stellar group of skaters, but according to Preds radio play-by-play man Tom Callahan, it's Thomas Greiss in net tonight for the Sharks:

Thomas Greiss

#1 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 29, 1986

	GP	MIN	W	L			GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Thomas Greiss	2	87	1	1			2	1.38	47	45	.957	0

For Nashville, Dan Ellis is expected to get the start, building on a 27-save performance in L.A. on Saturday:

Dan Ellis

#39 / Goalie / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-0

Weight: 188

Born: Jun 19, 1980

	GP	MIN	W	L			GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Dan Ellis	9	436	3	3			20	2.75	212	192	.906	0

Summary

The Preds should come into this one with a "nothing-to-lose" mentality, and really all the pressure is on San Jose here. After topping the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0 Saturday, there's definitely the possibility of the letdown on the part of the Sharks. If Ellis can put together another strong effort, and Weber can resume his dominance on the blueline, the Preds will have a puncher's chance tonight.

And speaking of a puncher's chance... here's a bit of a flashback to November of last year...

Ranking the NHL's fighters

James Mirtle — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:55:54 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

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If you haven't been stopping by stats man Gabe Desjardins's pad lately, you'd be well-served to do so. He's banging out some good stuff over there.

The latest is a system of ranking fighters, one that comes up with Georges Laraque as the NHL's top heavyweight. Here's the list based on the past three seasons:

Player	Ft	In	Wt	Fights	W	L	T	GP	Fts/82
Georges Laraque	6	3	253	30	24	3	3	177	13.9
D.J. King	6	3	229	22	16	2	4	89	20.3
Derek Boogaard	6	8	257	29	21	6	2	133	17.9
Donald Brashear	6	3	234	37	23	9	5	220	13.8
Wade Belak	6	5	225	28	17	7	4	165	13.9
Milan Lucic	6	3	228	24	18	4	2	149	13.2
Aaron Downey	6	1	215	15	9	1	5	81	15.2
Raitis Ivanans	6	4	256	39	21	11	7	215	14.9
Colton Orr	6	3	222	52	31	16	5	209	20.4
Eric Godard	6	4	214	44	20	15	9	164	22.0

I'm afraid I don't quite get how the ELO rating system is coming into play here, but anything that uses chess to rank hockey fighters is all right by me.

Fighting: Just like Chess

Hawerchuk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:15:19 -0000

by Chris Young - AP

2 months ago: Toronto Maple Leafs' Colton Orr, right, fights with Montreal Canadiens' Georges Laraque during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

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So how do we figure out who the best fighter in the NHL is? First, we need to know who won every fight that takes place in the league. Hockey-fights.com is an absolutely indispensable resource in this regard - its users vote on who won and lost every fight. But it's not enough - a heavyweight who fights only in his weight class might have a .500 record despite being one of the better fighters in the league.

As usual, chess has the answer we're looking for: the ELO rating system, which handicaps players based on their past performance. Using ELO, the loser of a bout between top-ranked fighters will be penalized far less than if he lost to an unknown or a poor fighter. Here are the rankings for serious fighters using all fights during the 2006-07 through 2008-09 season:

Player	Ft	In	Wt	Fights	W	L	T	GP	Fights/82
Georges Laraque	6	3	253	30	24	3	3	177	13.9
D.J. King	6	3	229	22	16	2	4	89	20.3
Derek Boogaard	6	8	257	29	21	6	2	133	17.9
Donald Brashear	6	3	234	37	23	9	5	220	13.8
Wade Belak	6	5	225	28	17	7	4	165	13.9
Milan Lucic	6	3	228	24	18	4	2	149	13.2
Aaron Downey	6	1	215	15	9	1	5	81	15.2
Raitis Ivanans	6	4	256	39	21	11	7	215	14.9
Colton Orr	6	3	222	52	31	16	5	209	20.4
Eric Godard	6	4	214	44	20	15	9	164	22.0

No matter how you slice the data, Laraque was going to be #1. His 24-3-3 record against no-one but tough guys is unmatched.

And what about the less-frequent fighters?

Player	Ft	In	Wt	Fights	W	L	T	GP	Fights/82
Zdeno Chara	6	9	255	7	5	0	2	237	2.4
Sheldon Souray	6	4	233	8	7	0	1	188	3.5
Gary Roberts	6	2	215	6	5	1	0	137	3.6
Kevin Bieksa	6	0	205	15	13	1	1	187	6.6
Craig Rivet	6	2	210	13	10	0	3	209	5.1

This group definitely includes some solid fighters who've made the highlight of the night with their fists. Just missing the top five were Robyn Regehr and Rick Rypien, who fight less often but have had good success against serious fighters.

And who have been the worst fighters in the league? Presumably, legitimately bad fighters will stay away from fights! But among those who do fight repeatedly, Corey Perry (0 wins in 7 fights), Greg Campbell (1-16), Brendan Witt (1-9), Alex Burrows (0-15) and Tom Kostopoulos (1-23) stand out as particularly poor. Those decisions come from Hockeyfights.com users - if you watch the fight videos yourself, your mileage may vary.