Value Added Journalism

Perhaps the biggest play in last night's game against Atlanta was Marian Hossa's goal that broke a 1-1 tie in the final minute of the second period (yeah, there was a pretty important goal later on, but go with me on this one).

Here's how the AP described the goal:

Hossa gave the Thrashers the lead with an unusual assist from Lehtonen with only 56 seconds left in the second period. Lehtonen made a stop and then quickly shot the puck straight up the ice to Hossa, who had only Kolzig ahead of him before scoring the breakaway goal.

Yep. That's more or less what went down.

Tarik wrote about the goal in this morning's WaPo thusly:

It began with Lehtonen gloving down Milan Jurcina's shot from the slot. He quickly dropped the puck and fired it down the rink to Hossa, who had sneaked behind the Capitals' defense and was cherry-picking at the Washington blueline. Hossa snagged the goalie's heads-up pass, broke into the zone and slipped the puck underneath Kolzig (26 saves) with 57 seconds left in the second period to send Atlanta into the third with a 2-1 lead.

A better description of the play, to be sure, but just that - the "what" of the Hossa tally.

Corey, however, delivered on the "how" and "why" as well in his article in the WTimes:

Atlanta added one more before the second intermission. Lehtonen gloved Milan Jurcina's shot from the left point, then astutely fired a perfect 110-foot pass to the opposite blue line, where Hossa was waiting behind a slow line change by the Caps.

Hossa skated in alone, faked a slap shot and went left to slide the puck under the goalie's leg, faking out Kolzig in the process.

"Our guys stayed out way too long, and they didn't have the energy to come back to the bench hard," said Boudreau, referring to the line of Steckel (1:17 shift before the change), Matt Bradley (1:31) and Donald Brashear (1:27).

All three reporters, in all likelihood, were in Bruce Boudreau's post-game presser. All three, in all likelihood, got that same quote. But Corey not only used it to explain why Hossa was able to break free (it was more than just cherry-picking), he went a step further and did the research so he could give us the shift lengths of the guilty parties. And that's just great reporting.

The point is not to bash anyone - everyone's on deadlines, editors hack articles to pieces, etc. - but to commend a subtle, but not unnoticed, extra effort on Corey's part to bring more than just a straight play-by-play recap to a deserving fan base. Dave Fay, no doubt, would be proud.

R.I.P. Dave Fay

WTimes Caps beat writer and Hockey Hall of Famer Dave Fay has passed away.

Obviously this is very sad news as the hockey world has lost one of its most dedicated and skilled scribes.

"He was one of the most beloved characters in our association," said Professional Hockey Writers Association president Kevin Allen. "He was the loveable curmudgeon, an old-school reporter who played the journalism game with his elbows up. He had a biting humor that has entertained his colleagues for many, many years. We have lost a hockey institution."

Indeed we have. And say, Dave, while you're up there, how about putting in a good word for the team you covered so diligently for so long?

Update: For more on Fay and what he meant to hockey in D.C., check out Vogs' tribute.

If There's A Parade To Be Had, Rest Assured That Dave Fay Will Rain On It

Dave Fay - who had famously claimed that Nicklas Backstrom would not be coming to North America for the 2007-08 season - can't let a positive moment slip by without getting in a shot or two.

In his latest article, entitled "Capitals' Rebuilding Begins" (hey, Dave, that started three-plus years ago, no?), Fay offers his thoughts on the Caps' newest player:

Backstrom, rookie of the year a season ago for Brynas in the adult Swedish Elite League, is said to be a smart, highly skilled playmaker with exceptional hockey sense and an excellent skater who is adept defensively.

He lacks only one thing the Caps were looking for in their search for a quality center: He is not right-handed. The club wants a pivot who can maximize the potential of left wings Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, and a right-hander might be better suited.

Note that Backstrom is not a smart, highly-skilled player, he's merely "said to be" that. But rather than dwell on unsubstantiated positives, Fay points out what Backstrom lacks (and, for the record, rightwing Brett Hull did fine taking feeds from right-handed Adam Oates, to name just one example of a duo who managed to succeed despite the awful handicap of having the scorer on the passer's backhand side).

Sure it's a little thing, but enough already, Dave. Backstrom's not going to walk on water, turn water into wine or pop every kernel in a bag of microwave popcorn without burning any of it either, but that doesn't mean he won't be a top flight second- (potentially first-) line center. Even with that crippling negative you noted, I'll take the positives that Nick is "said to" possess - you can have the right-handed Jiri Novotny.

Dave Fay Doesn't Get It

It's certainly not the first time and hopefully won't be the last, but WTimes Caps beat writer Dave Fay has once again shown how out of touch he is with both this current Caps team and hockey reality.

Fay begins his ridiculously-titled rant ("Capitals Keep Getting Worse, Not Better") with the equally-ludicrous implication that the Caps should have been buyers at this year's trade deadline.

Hours after the trading deadline ended late last month, Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier said, "The message to the players is 'We want to get you immediate help.' " Enter Dainius Zubrus and backup Ty Conklin, and the Sabres were better.

It was the same thing in Nashville. The Predators had to make a statement, and general manager David Poile got Peter Forsberg -- a pretty positive statement.

In Atlanta, the statement was Keith Tkachuk. On Long Island, Ryan Smyth arrived to help. In Pittsburgh, the Penguins talked character forward Gary Roberts into leaving Florida and grabbed Georges Laraque from Phoenix.

In Washington, where players have known for a long, long time they need immediate, mid-term and long-term help, it was more of the same: We'll be there when you need us, guys. Don't worry, we've got your backs.

Lots of mouth but no help, not unless Jiri Novotny, who arrived from Buffalo as a fourth-line defensive center and has done nothing to change that impression, is considered help.

Should we stop reading now? Probably. But we won't. Fay continues:

The Caps are fielding a team that has two players with measurable skill levels -- Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin -- and the marketing department wants fans to believe they are dealing with the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. To make matters worse, there is nothing on the horizon that guarantees things will improve in the immediate future.

Personally, I'd consider Olie Kolzig's skill level to be "measureable" (using metrics such as "Vezina Trophies" or "career NHL wins"). I'd also consider Chris Clark's and Matt Pettinger's 20-goal seasons to be measurable. And regarding his statement above that the Pens had to add character and toughness in Roberts and Laraque - wouldn't he rather have already had that grit on the roster in guys like Clark and Donald Brashear?

As for the assertion that "there is nothing on the horizon that guarantees things will improve in the immediate future," he's right. But then again, there is nothing on the horizon that guarantees anything other than the sun rising and taxes being due on April 15 (actually April 16 this year), is there?

More Fay:

This is the direction the Caps are headed. Two years ago Washington and Pittsburgh started out about the same level -- two bad teams with one exceptional young talent. That seems to be where the teams separated. Today the Penguins are fighting for home-ice advantage in the playoffs after rebuilding to support their young star while the Nationals stand a better chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs than the Caps do.

Not true. At all. Two years ago the Pens had four top-five picks from the previous four drafts under contract (or at least the exclusive rights to negotiate with them, in the case of Elbows Malkin). The Caps, on the other hand, hadn't had a top-five pick other than Ovechkin since 1996 (that 2005 draft lottery was really fair, wasn't it?). Quite simply, the two teams weren't at "about the same level", and only a superficial glance at a marketer-manufactured rivalry and the year-end standings would make it seem so.

Here's the picture: Take Alex 1 and 2 off the roster and this is a team that would have trouble winning in the American Hockey League.

Odd claim, given that - sans Alexes - the Caps' AHL affiliate won the Calder Cup last year and is in position to make a run at doing the same again this year.

Then comes the bombshell:

To begin with, word out of Sweden is that Nicklas Backstrom, the Caps' top pick in the draft last summer, might not want to come to the NHL this season or even next season. There goes the theory of a first-line center.

"Word out of Sweden... might not." Well-sourced and definitive. Is Eklund an intern at the Times? And what does he mean "this season or even next season?" Backstrom can't come over this season anyway due to IIHF regulations (though I'm sure he'd be chomping at the bit to race over here for a half-dozen meaningless games anyway). Oh, and the Caps see him as a #2 - not a #1 - center, pairing with Alex Semin, Dave. Do some homework.

The rest of the article details the Caps needs - center, powerplay defenseman, rightwing - offering nothing new or particularly insightful and, in fairness, noting that Ted Leonsis et. al. have acknowledged these deficiencies (though Fay is skeptical of the organization's wilingness to address them).

It's hard to tell whether Fay believes that the Caps are getting worse (which he claims in his headline, but doesn't assert in the article), that the Caps should be in a similar situation to that of the Penguins (which he implies, but it's a borderline-idiotic argument - hint: both teams essentially started their rebuilds by trading Jaromir Jagr; should they really be equidistant from the finish line when one got a multi-year headstart?) or that the Caps need to be knocked down a peg after actually winning back-to-back games (there's nothing in the article to support this, but it would fit his M.O.). Whatever the point of this article, Fay has made a larger point - that he'd only be marginally worse as an NHL general manager than he is as a journalist.