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On Tuesday November 10, the NHL General Managers began two days of meetings. Publicly, we have heard that the focal point of discussion on day one was the trapezoid behind the goaltenders’ nets. Day two was spent talking about headshots.

Really TSN experts, do you mean to tell me that the 30 most powerful men in hockey met for two days and all they discussed was a strange four sided shape from geometry class and the same head shot topic that has been talked about since Eric Lindros’ first concussion in 1972?

Luckily, Head to the Net had the meeting room bugged and we found out what really happened:


First, the room is fairly large, and there is a boxing ring situated right at the centre. NHL types believe that a good fist fight is a healthy self-policing method, or sometimes it can be used to switch momentum in negotiations – thus the need for the ring.

On Tuesday morning, Mike Gillis (Vancouver Canucks) and Brian Burke (Toronto Maple Leafs) have arrived in their full boxing gear, ready for the showdown that has been brewing for months. Gillis starts the fight with a couple of quick punches to Burkie’s head. No credit should be given for this, as Burke’s head is so big it’s impossible to miss.

After taking a few blows, Burke ties Gillis up into a headlock.

Burke: give… me… the… Sedins… Mike!

Gillis: Never!

Elsewhere in the room:

Kevin Lowe (Edmonton Oilers’ President) is clinging to the edge of the ring cheering Gillis on and crying death threats at Burke.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also watches from his chair, upon which he’s placed a booster seat.

Ray Shero (Pittsburgh Penguins) and George McPhee (Washington Capitals) are shooting pool

Shero: How you doing, George?

McPhee: Chillin’ bro.

Shero: I hear that. Everyone here is so stressed out, but you and I have the 4 best players in the league locked up to long term contracts. I got no problems with the NHL right now!

McPhee: Cheers to that, bro!

Conversely, Ken Holland (Detroit Red Wings), is on the phone with Steve Yzerman, analyzing the 2010 and 2011 draft prospects lists.

McPhee: Come have a beer with us, Ken! Your team is amazing already! Relax!

Holland: No.


Back at the ring, Gillis has landed a series of body blows, and Burkie’s lapdog, Dave Nonis is becoming very agitated. He pulls out his cell phone:

Nonis: Hi, Ray Emery? I need you! How soon can you been in Toronto? You have to come kick Mike Gillis’ ass.

Emery: You’re looking for the old Ray Emery, my man. I don’t fight anymore. Try calling Chris Chelios and offer him a contract – he’ll do anything to get back in the league.


At the main entrance: Don Maloney is arguing with the security guard.

Maloney: I’m supposed to be in there! You’ve got to let me in!

Security: You said your name is Don Maloney? Your name isn’t on the list, buddy. Who are you, again?

Maloney: I’m the GM of the Phoenix Coyotes! Don’t you know who I am?

Security: No, never heard of you, sir. And these “Coyotes” aren’t even on the list of recognized NHL teams. You sure you’ve got the right place?


The rest of day one continued in a similar fashion. Most of day two was spent debating whether the Toronto Maple Leafs should retain veto power in all votes going forward. They won the vote, using the veto.

According to Head to The Net’s reliable sources, Canucks’ GM Mike Gillis placed a call to Peter Forsberg, who is in Sweden, over the weekend. The following is a transcript:

Mike Gillis: Peter, we really want you to come and play for the Canucks, and I have to stress that playing in Vancouver will be really simple.

Peter Forsberg: Simple? What do you mean?

MG: For starters, we already have 4 Swedish players on the team. Last year we had 5. We’ve made Swedish our official second language, so you don’t even need to learn English if you don’t want.

PF: I lived in North America for 15 years already, Mike. I know English pretty well.

MG: Just in case you forgot, Peter! Or maybe you never liked English! It’s all up to you.

PF: Yeah, sure. Anything else?

MG: Yes. The Olympic Games are in Vancouver in February in our very own back yard – you will live within walking distance of the rink.

PF: Won’t I have to stay in the athletes’ village anyways? All players do. Really, it won’t make a difference.

MG: Crap, you saw through that one. Ok, well don’t tell Roberto or the Sedins about this, it was one of my main selling points for their new contracts. But Peter, we did completely renovate the dressing room this year, it is amazing.

PF: Don’t you have a huge roadtrip both before and after the Olympics, because of all the preparation and take-down time? I’ll never get to spend any time there anyways.

MG: How do you know all of this stuff? Don’t tell me you read the newspaper! Most players hate reading and believe everything I tell them. Signing you could be a lot harder than I thought. I guess I won’t be telling you how mild our weather is, like I told Mats last year. Boy was he upset when he realized it never stops raining.

PF: Don’t worry, my other choice is Philadelphia. If anything is more dreary than Vancouver, that’s the place. I’ll probably just flip a coin when the time comes to decide. Good luck, Mike!

Dear Head To the Net Readers, check out the new banner! Wonderful new banners such as are only made possible by you, the loyal readers.

There is also a new poll: who will be Canada's starting goalie at the Olympic games? Weigh in now!

Last night during the Canucks vs. Wild game, Tommy Larscheid let it be known that GM Mike Gillis is very interested in pursuing the services of Peter Forsberg for the rest of the Canucks season. Gillis spoke with Larscheid before the game, and told him that most of the Canucks’ pro-scouting staff is currently in Sweden, watching Forsberg’s progress, as he competes in an international tournament. Today, the Team 1040 radio station mentioned that Mike Gillis and Lawrence Gillman may have travelled to Sweden as well, as the Canucks are pursuing this with all they’ve got.

Just remember the Peter Forsberg who used to dominate NHL defensemen with his size and strength. One of the best power forwards the league has ever seen, he was that rare combination of size, skill, vision, and the one intangible he had more than anyone else – intensity. One look at his eyes was enough to scare opponents into submission, and if that didn’t do it, a single bone-crushing body check would.

I originally designed this jersey to help Gillis sign the Sedins this past summer, and it was obviously the deciding factor in the end. It will work on Forsberg too. “Peter the Great” playing for the Canucks – please Mike, make it happen.

See Iain MacIntyre's article in the Vancouver Sun here

Oftentimes, Vancouver Canucks’ head coach, Alain Vigneault, will make decisions that leave us scratching our heads. Usually, however, his actions carry an underlying message. Here, we’re going to help you interpret some of his latest moves, in our new segment: “Reading between Coach V’s lines”.


What Coach V did: Defenseman Kevin Bieksa has been moved from defenseman to forward due to the many injuries that the Canucks are dealing with.

What he was thinking: “Since you love jumping into the offensive play without a thought to your defensive responsibilities, you can just play forward and forget about defense all together.”

What Coach V did: Kyle Wellwood was taken off the power play for the first two periods of Tuesday’s game.

What he was thinking: “I don’t care if you’re a ‘powerplay specialist,’ Kyle, if you keep giving the puck away you get to be a third line specialist."

(note, Wellwood played his way back onto the powerplay in the third period, and looked more motivated in his return)


What Coach V did: He demoted Sergei Shirokov from the Canucks to the minor league Manitoba Moose despite all the injuries and the Canucks’ desperate need for offense.

What he was thinking: "You seem to want to play like a kid, so you can just go play with the kids."

November 1, 2009

Report by Omar Rawji

In the fourth and final game of the series against USA on Sunday morning, Team Canada finally came out with the start they wanted, and they built a 2-0 lead by the 26th minute. The final score was 3-1 Canada after a second half that was a test for the team’s defensive resolve, as they played shorthanded for much of it.

Mark Pearson led the offense with two goals - the first coming off an interception by Ranjeev Deol, who passed it to Pearson for the finish. Considering that the team that has been stressing the importance of capitalizing on counters, it was particularly satisfying.

““We talked in the pre-game about working on our fast breaks and getting more out of our counter opportunities,” said Pearson. “Sure enough, four minutes in, a turnover came to Jeevers (Deol), who played a lovely ball through to me, and I just ran in and smashed it by the goalie.” His second came in the 26th minute, on a great play by Taylor Curran.

“The second one was a good buildup – the ball got to Taylor, he made a nice turn coming in on the two-on-one and he just fed it across far post. It was a good ball, and I was just in there to dive in and score.”

The second half was defined by Canada’s yellow cards, which started with a cautioning to Keegan Pereira in the 51st minute. Mark Erickson would subsequently be carded in the 55th minute, followed by Pearson in the 57th – making Canada play down by two men for five minutes and by one for an additional six.

”That was a bit of a turning point, and they cranked up the heat a little bit and started pressing, but I think we got out of it pretty good,” said Canadian Head Coach Alan Brahmst.

Immediately before Pereira’s cautioning, he played a large role in creating the team’s final goal, as he swiftly ran the ball up the left side and into the D, crossing it towards Ian Smyth who dove in attempt to finish the play, resulting in a penalty corner. Captain Scott Tupper would take the corner and score the 3-0 goal, as the team went one-for-three on short corner opportunities.

With many of Canada’s veterans not in attendance for this game, the young guns played a prominent role. Mark Erickson and Jesse Watson played the entire match, and Connor Meakin, Taylor Curran, Pereira, and Smyth all played significant minutes. Coach Brahmst had particular praise for the play of Meakin and Curran, who are showing impressive improvement as their confidence rises.

Team captain Scott Tupper looked at the stretch of penalties in a positive light, “I think we kept our cool, we didn’t do too bad being down by 2 men. I think in a way it’s a good learning experience because that could happen in a tournament.”

Coach Brahmst was also pleased at his team’s response: “I think the boys did a fantastic job playing two men down – we were playing with eight guys out there,” he said. “There was about 10-15 minutes where the US was pushing and they did some good things.”

On the series as a whole, Brahmst was impressed with the American’s efforts, “The US definitely improved over the four games, but we improved too, and we just stayed ahead of them.”

Worth noting, Dave Jameson celebrated his 25th birthday in front of a nice group of hometown supporters. His moment of glory, to them, came in the 68th minute when he blocked a penalty corner shot off his knee.

“It was great, he took one for the team, and you have to do those things,” said Susan Paterson, the most vocal member of the DJ fanclub. “We are so proud to have his face on our shirts.”

Following an intense month of matches against India and USA, the team has 25 days to rest before they leave for Argentina to resume their pre-World Cup training regimen. In the meantime there will be plenty of analysis of the games, and there will be more to come on this in the upcoming days.


Scoring Summary:

3’ – CAN Pearson, Mark (FG) 1-0 Canada
26’ – CAN Pearson, Mark (FG) 2-0 Canada
51’ – CAN Tupper, Scott (PC) 3-0 Canada
56’ – USA Coolidge, Nate (PC) 3-1 Canada