The NHL comes in waves and trends. The newest trend is small, fast, mobile, and yes, dirt cheap. It’s not something you would notice as the camera sets its focus on the opening draw. They’re between the pipes and they’re replacing the big names and big contracts that were there before them.

Teams needed to make changes and modifications to adapt to a salary cap world. Impact players and forwards, or superstars were still selling and teams were buying, no matter the cost. But in order to afford them they needed to cut corners elsewhere. First it was the third and fourth liners who were replaced by the AHLers that could do the same job for two or three million dollars less. Now teams are cutting corners in the net and surprisingly it’s paying off.

It was earlier today the San Jose Sharks announced they were letting go of Evgeni Nabokov. They didn’t rule out the possibility off adding a veteran goaltender but were more than comfortable to go with Thomas Greiss. He’s played just 19 NHL games but gave his team the opportunity to win in most of those starts. He also impressed at the Olympics when he suited up for Germany. And of course, the real deal breaker, he costs just $550,000. At least $5 million less than what Nabokov would have cost them. With savings like that the team may be able to keep together the likes of Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Pavelski, Clowe, Setoguchi and Boyle. When you ice players of that caliber, would it really matter who they put between the pipes?

The past indicates the Sharks’ logic is far from flawed. In 2006, Cam Ward took home the Cup for the Carolina Hurricanes while making just $684 000. In 2007, it was Ray Emery taking the Senators to the Conference Finals with a six figure payroll. In 2008, the finals consisted of Chris Osgood taking on Marc-Andre Fleury, putting his $800,000 against Fleury’s $1.6 million with a rematch the following year. Here in 2010, though not by design, the Flyers Michael Leighton used his $600,000 salary to lead the Flyers to the Conference Finals, only to see Antii Niemi’s $826,875 salary win out in the end.

The Sharks aren’t the only team to notice the trend. By taking the small, fast, mobile, young (in most cases) and most certainly cheap route, teams have noticed they can have a serviceable talent between the pipes, potentially a diamond in the rough, and still have the finances to afford their game-breakers and superstars. The Anaheim Ducks traded away their former playoff MVP last season to make room for Jonas Hiller. His new contract doesn’t exactly make him cheap but he’s certainly cheaper than J.S. Giguere. Boston is attempting to deal Tim Thomas and his $5 million cap hit to make room for Tuukka Rask. Chicago will be more than willing to bury Huet’s contract in the minors and running with Niemi if it means fitting their monster contracts up front under the cap. The Montreal Canadiens put all their eggs in one basket with Jaroslav Halak and he eliminated the only two teams considered legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference and are now turning to an even younger, Carey Price. Vancouver has re-signed Cory Schneider to a two year, six-figure contract and are ready to give him considerably more ice time behind Luongo rather than use him as a trading chip and the Washington Capitals are more than comfortable moving forward with their six-figure netminder, Semyon Varlamov if it means being able to afford Semin, Backstron, Green and Ovechkin.

The concept of cheap, young goaltenders may seem foreign to some, especially coming off years where Lundqvist, Luongo, Fleury, Huet, Khabibulin, Nabokov, Kiprusoff, Giguere and others were given monster contracts in hopes of leading their team to the promise land. Many of these contracts now seem overpriced and have tied their teams’ hands in terms of flexibility throughout the roster. In a salary cap world, cheap is the way to go. Depth players were the first to feel the ax and the most coveted and pressured position in the sport is next in line. Established players are being replaced by the younger, more flexible and cheaper options. There isn’t a market for the Marty Turco’s, Chris Mason’s, Evgeni Nabokov’s, Tim Thomas’ and their larger-scaled contracts. Whether it’s a shift, trend or change to the game and position, it’s certainly something worth following as we approach the time of the season where general managers look to establish and mould their teams. The draft and free agency are upon us and the market, or lack thereof, for goaltenders is something worth watching.

Armando Galarraga was one out away from history. 26 up, 26 down; a perfect game awaited him. Many of the all-time greats have come and gone without enjoying the fruits of such a masterful game. In fact there had just been 20 in Major League Baseball history, including two already this season, and that number remained the same after last night.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Jason Donald was called safe by first base umpire Jim Joyce on an infield hit. From there, the conversations began. An outraged Tigers team closed out the game by retiring the next batter and the attention was immediately turned away from the gem of a game pitched by Galarraga and towards the blown call by Joyce. Today the discussion has shifted towards whether MLB should overrule the call and award Galarraga his perfect game. The answer is no.

Baseball is an always has been a game refereed by human error. Baseball umpires are one of best at what they do but they still make mistakes. We’ve had blown fan interference calls eventually decide World Series winners, a blown foul ball call ruin no-hitters and shutouts. I challenge you to find a game where at least one batter hasn’t complained about balls and strikes. In fact, it’s common knowledge throughout the league and its fans that homeplate umpires each have their own opinion of where the strike zone is.

The homeplate umpire makes little mistakes that can have a big impact every game. Changing the count from 2-1 to 3-0 changes the approach of both the hitter and the batter. But when he makes a mistake, it’s simply referred to as setting his own strike zone and the two teams carry on without a whisper. Suddenly because the first base umpire made an honest mistake we should overturn the result of the game? Wrong calls are made in baseball every game. Some of it we can shrug our shoulders at and others create a scene at the time but are eventually forgotten. When you look at this situation in particular, had this play happened in the second inning and he still retired every batter after, would we still be having this conversation today? Probably not. But because it happened with two outs in the ninth suddenly it’s a travesty.

So the next question that comes to mind is whether baseball should expand video replay. But would video replay really fix everything? It may have prevented this one sure, but what about the next one? What about those blown balls and strike calls? What if the video is inconclusive? Look at other leagues who have implemented a respected system of video replay. The National Hockey League loses count of how many times in a week the official walks to centre ice and announces that video replay was inconclusive and therefor the call on the ice stands. The 2004 Calgary Flames probably have something to say about how well video replay works when it cost them the Stanley Cup. As would the 1999 Buffalo Sabres. The NFL is consistently reviewing plays where one replay gives evidence of a dropped pass and the other says the opposite. Whether the receivers foot was in or out of bounds or the football crossed the goal line. The debate remains open for an entire week as to who should have won the game.

Baseball is what it is. It’s a game of inches and finicky rules where the slightest ounce of perception one way or the other can change the course of the game. One missed call no matter how big or small has the ability to change the complexion of the game. Nobody complains. The fans and the league accept it for that and at the end of the day the scoreboard shows Galarraga with a one hitter. That’s how it should remain.

http://rapidshare.com/files/389805322/may20.mp3

In this week’s episode we talk about our round two NHL predictions, what has gone on in round three and where Chris Bosh and Lebron James could end up.

I’m sure by now many of you have heard the news that has infuriated most, if not all, Blue Jay fans. The Blue Jays found themselves in a very tough situation and the decision made by Major League baseball doesn’t sit well with their fans. When you look past the original feelings of outrage and disappointment and dig a little deeper, there’s something to be realized; As messy of a situation as this may be, there is the potential for the Blue Jays and Major League Baseball to do something really special.

We start at the root of the problem, the G20 Summit and the Philadelphia Phillies have both been scheduled to be in Toronto at the same time. As a result of the G20 Summit, the city of Toronto will be at maximum security risk and the Rogers Centre is within the heightened security zone. And with that, the show simply can’t go on; the Blue Jays and Phillies need to leave town.

Now some may argue that it should never have gone this far. The Blue Jays should have realized their may be some security issues due to the close proximity of the Summit and the Rogers Centre. These concerns should have been addressed to Major League Baseball before the schedule was released. However, these concerns either weren’t realized and voiced, or they simply weren’t heard. So now a sticky situation has arrived and given the circumstances I think we can all understand the series needed to be moved. But moving it to Philadelphia is the quick and easy fix. As tough of a predicament as this may be, there is an opportunity to go beyond baseball and do something more.

Despite the fact the games will be played under AL rules and the Blue Jays will still bat last, this is really three additional home games for the Phillies. Every report or interview I’ve seen on the subject (including those from U.S. markets) are all in consensus; these games should not be played in Philadelphia. They need to find a neutral site. It’s key to note that no matter what the Blue Jays do, these home games are lost. So rather than worrying about the dollar, or catering to the Phillies, lets look at this as an opportunity to reach out to the fans. With no promotions to this point, Flashback Fridays a thing of the past, and embarrassing attendance records, now is the time to make a splash and the Jays organization has been handed a wonderful opportunity to do so.

The Blue Jays are Canada’s only team but being fixated in Toronto has it’s downfalls when you’re trying to represent the entire country. It’s time to take this game to the road and explore the rest of the country. The first place to come to mind is Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. For a team that has had zero promotions or “special” game days to even attempt to fix their embarrassing attendance records, a three day series to honour Canada’s other baseball team would be perfect. Still not satisfied? Western Canada has remained loyal to the Jays for several years despite being nowhere close to the home stadium in Toronto. Their home games each season are the limited number of times the Blue Jays visit the Seattle Mariners, and even then it’s a bit of trek for Jays fans. Why not send a thank-you their way and play in BC Place. Sounds fantastic, but unfortunately the renovations being made to the stadium post Olympics has the building non-operational until 2011. As a result, Empire Stadium has been hosting the BC Lions and could be made available for 3 games in June for the Blue Jays. It only seats approximately 32,000 people, but for a team who has difficulty reaching 10,000 in their own building, I think they’d take it as opposed to going to Philadelphia. Want to keep the games close to Toronto? Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilon is the home of the Tiger Cats. The 30,000 seat capacity would be ideal for those fans looking to stay local and honour arguably the greatest player to dawn the blue.

The Blue Jays could also honour the growth of the game in a special three-game set at a little-league stadium in Canada. There are countless number of options when you take the little league route. They go to Atlantic Canada, the Maritimes, or out West. They would only seat 15-20,000 people but it would an interesting tribute and something that would draw attention to the team. If done properly, they could continue this theme throughout the season with special promotions at the Rogers Centre including, figures important to Major League Baseball history appearing and being honoured at the games, special giveaways and tributes to the little leagues, video prize packs, and giveaways. All of which would draw some crowds when they return to the Rogers Centre and at least make it look as though they’re putting forth some sort of an effort to reach the fans.

I think we can all agree the situation is far from pleasant and even if these alternatives don’t appeal to you, one thing is for certain, there are far better locations that would work for both clubs than simply moving things to Philadelphia. Moving the series to Philadelphia was the easy way out; a quick fix. While the situation isn’t ideal there is a potential for the Blue Jays and Major League Baseball to do something special and it’s an opportunity that shouldn’t go to waste by simply taking the easy road.

The past few days, aside from the Montreal Canadiens shocking the world by upsetting both Washington and Pitssburgh, I’ve been hearing way too much about who is to blame for the Canucks fall to the Blackhawks.

First, lets not forget that the Blackhawks are one hell of a team and deserve to be playing San Jose for the right to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final. The Blackhawks are a great combination of young and old, with an explosive offense, sound defense and a young goalie who has been outstanding. The Hawks are well rounded and will be a top team in this league for years to come.

But if we MUST blame someone on the Canucks, who should it be? The most popular choice has been Luongo, mostly due to his long-term, expensive contract. Sure, it’s easy to point the finger at a guy who the Canucks signed forever and for a lot of money, but lets not forget this is a guy who helped Canada win gold in Vancouver a few months ago and who was a huge reason the Canucks did as well as they did this season.

I’ve also heard Vignault is to blame, but it’s always way too easy to blame the coach. This guy has done a fantastic job with some of the younger players on this team and has really helped the Sedins get to the next level.

Who do I blame? I think back to early March where on Hockeyleaks.com I listed three huge needs the Canucks need to fill at the trade deadline. Most important was a puck-moving defenseman, while the need for another defensive d-man and secondary scoring was not far behind.

The deadline came and went and all the Canucks could say was “well we are getting Demitra back, that’s like making a trade.”

Well looking back at the series with Chicago, two extra d-men really could have made the difference, while the secondary scoring, plus the added offense from a puck moving d-man, may just have been what the Canucks needed to compete with those speedy Blackhawks. Instead, the Canucks had to rely on guys like Wellwood and Hansen for secondary scoring while they were battered on the back-end with pucks to the face and ruptured testicles.

So if I had to point my finger, it would be directly at Mike Gillis. Even from Toronto I could see the glaring holes in the Canucks at the deadline, and the fact that he failed to fill them leads to me not being surprised the Canucks are bound for the golf coarse and the Blackhawks are bound for San Jose.

First of all, $3.5 million a year for three years for Kari Lehtonen? I know Dallas is desperate for a goalie, but this is a guy who has spent more time injured since being drafted than in the crease. When Jonas Gustavsson signed in Toronto for $1.3 million for two years in Toronto, I thought that could potentially drive the cost of goaltending down this summer. Now with Lehtonen getting $3.5, what does this mean for other UFA/RFA goalies who are better and more reliable? Halak, Mason and Niemi must be licking their chops right now.

And how about the news coming out over the past few days that the Phoenix Coyotes could be playing their home schedule in Winnipeg next season. While I’ve been told nothing is for certain, the City of Glendale is struggling with just about everyone they talk to, and after a year where it seemed like the Coyotes could never be moved, it seems like a move to Winnipeg may be much simpler than we all thought. With that said, if the Coyotes are leaving Phoenix, expect some sort of move by Kansas City or Las Vegas in an attempt to bring the team to their respective cities. At this point, if I’m a betting man, which I am, I’m putting my money on the Coyotes leaving Phoenix by next season. Winnipeg, you may be getting your team back. It’d be the first good move the NHL has made regarding it’s failing franchises in a long, long time.

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The Third Intermission will cover the sports world as a whole, keeping a close look at North America’s top leagues including the NHL, MLB, NBA and MLB.  Based in Toronto, Ontario, don’t be surprised for the guys to focus on the Canadian aspect of everything, though our friends south of the border won’t be ignored.

Expect blog posts several times a week, with podcasts popping up on a weekly basis as well.  Corey and Brandon will often be joined by friends, colleagues, and maybe even people they don’t know to get a third perspective on things.

Thanks for checking us out and we hope you enjoy!