Ruff criticism misguided as accomplished Rangers assistant takes Devils coaching job

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Derek

Much has been made of Lindy Ruff in this area from impatient fans. The truth is the Rangers have one of the most polarizing fan bases in all of hockey.

Such is the mentality of the New York sports fan. That goes double for the most spoiled fans in the city. As a Yankees fan, I would know. Having been lucky enough to see the 90’s Yankee Dynasty that won four World Series titles between 1996-01, they made winning look easy.

As I’m sure resident Devils blogger Hasan can attest due to his team once capturing three Stanley Cups in nine years, it’s not. Once, New Jersey had their own Core Four that included Martin Brodeur, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens. They were similar to the classic Yankees Core Four of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. The latter of which led the Yankee Pinstripes to five World Championships and seven pennants.

We often take for granted such amazing accomplishments. It isn’t easy to be that successful in sports. Similarly, the Rangers during the Henrik Lundqvist Era gave our fans plenty of exciting moments. Between 2012 and 2015, the Blueshirts made three Conference Finals and appeared in one Stanley Cup. They captured the imagination of a loyal fan base that lives and dies with every game the Original Six franchise plays.

The same can be echoed of every move they make. Like the classic Police hit song, it truly is that way for the passionate fans who sit in the Blue Seats all the way up. Even an assistant coach like Ruff can come under fire. A very accomplished and proven veteran NHL head coach who’s won 736 games including a Sabres franchise record 571, he was up and down in Dallas over four years. The Stars made the playoffs twice and missed the same amount before they dismissed Ruff in 2017.

A hockey lifer who spent 11 years as a player with the Sabres and Rangers between 1979 until 1991, he eventually graduated to coaching. He served as an assistant under Roger Neilson with the Panthers from ’93-94 through ’96-97. He was part of the former expansion franchise’s success which culminated in a surprising run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final where they were swept by the powerful Avalanche.

Ruff was hired by the Sabres in 1997 to replace popular former coach Ted Nolan. It was a home run. He immediately had lots of success in leading Buffalo to consecutive Conference Finals. That included defeating the rival Maple Leafs in 1999 to advance to the Cup Final. Along the way, they upset three higher seeded rivals including sweeping second seeded Ottawa in the first round before eliminating the Bruins in six games and Leafs in five. Unfortunately, controversy surrounded the conclusion to Game Six of the Final when Brett Hull’s toe was in the crease during triple overtime to give the Stars the Cup. Had the Sabres won, who knows what would have happened with Dominik Hasek in net.

Astonishingly, Ruff lasted 15 years in Western New York. A Jack Adams winner in ’05-06 when he guided a very talented roster to 110 points including a upset of the Senators that sent them to a third Eastern Conference Final, he lost out on his best chance to win due to a depleted blueline. They lost in seven to eventual champion Carolina. The following season, they were even better going 53-22-7 for a franchise record 113 points tying the Red Wings for the most in the league. However, Ottawa avenged their second round defeat by defeating the higher seeded Sabres in five to break Buffalo hearts. Those two years were their best opportunity to deliver a championship to Buffalo.

Unfortunately, the Sabres never could reach the same success they had following the lockout. Key departures that included Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell and Maxim Afinogenov would hinder the club. While the team remained competitive thanks in large part to Ruff and goaltender Ryan Miller, they missed the postseason in four of his final six years behind the bench. The two they qualified for, they were ousted in the first round.

The franchise’s unstable ownership issues didn’t help. Eventually, Ruff was fired in 2012-13. He finished his Sabres coaching career 571-432-78-84. The third column was when there was this thing called ties. He posted a .560 winning percentage and is .561 overall when you tack on his four years spent in Dallas. A place that never felt right considering what happened in ’99.

After coming to the Rangers as an assistant during Alain Vigneault’s last year in ’17-18, he served under David Quinn in the same role the last two seasons on Broadway. Despite the personnel declining including on a revamped defense, Ruff inexplicably received too much blame from misguided fans.

Here’s the thing. If he gets blamed when things go wrong which is ridiculous, does he get any credit for helping develop young defensemen Tony DeAngelo, Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren? All have progressed nicely under both Quinn and Ruff, who handled the D. That includes the very cohesive rookie pair of Fox and Lindgren. The most consistent on the team that faces the Hurricanes starting in August. DeAngelo has always fit in well with veteran partner Marc Staal. Another whipping boy for biased fan blogs that don’t understand hockey.

If there is a player who must perform better in the five game preliminary round, it’s Jacob Trouba. After struggling to find consistency with friend and now current Hurricane Brady Skjei, he has paired up with vet Brendan Smith. If the Rangers are to advance past an improved Canes that should have both Dougie Hamilton and former Devil Sami Vatanen available, they’ll need a big series from Trouba. He will likely have to contend with dangerous trio Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov.

The big question regarding Ruff’s hire with the Hudson rival Devils is does he stay on as an assistant for the expanded playoff format under Quinn. The season isn’t over. Whether some realize it or not, it isn’t easy to replace a key assistant this late in a strange season. Players are familiar with Ruff, who emphasized how important communication will be in a interview with Devils correspondent Amanda Stein that appeared on Zoom.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1281308195282202628?s=19

No stranger to being in charge, what does the 60-year old have left in the fuel tank to offer the Devils? Clearly a team in transition with new GM Tom Fitzgerald getting good returns for Taylor Hall and Blake Coleman, they’re going to be built around young centers Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. How fast Hughes develops under Ruff will be crucial.

Ruff wants an aggressive team that attacks. One that doesn’t hesitate. For him, it’s probably his final stop in a long hockey journey. Or as Hasan put it, one last kick at the can. Did the three years away from being in charge help recharge his batteries? How much has he learned in a new hockey world where analytics are part of the process? We’ll find out.

A questionable hire by Devils ownership due to interviewing and passing on strong candidates Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant, Ruff has something to prove. No. He doesn’t have to answer to the critics. His NHL resume speaks for itself. But you have to think there will be some motivation.

He’s always had a fire in his belly. How many times did he get in the face of a official if he thought his Sabres were being jobbed? He’s been there and done that. Maybe he can instill the kind of work ethic needed for the Devils to improve. They compete in a tough division.

With Travis Zajac entering his final year of his contract along with Nikita Gusev and leading scorer Kyle Palmieri, who they should extend and consider making captain, Fitzgerald and Ruff have plenty of challenging decisions ahead. They’ll have almost nine million dollars in cap space. Continuing to improve a defense that relies on Damon Severson and Will Butcher will be crucial. What about PK Subban? He’s got two years remaining at a whopping $9 million cap hit. Likely immovable.

The Devils will look towards the future with prospects Ty Smith and Kevin Bahl (acquired from Coyotes in Hall trade) to help steady the back end. They have Mackenzie Blackwood and veteran Cory Schneider in net as a tandem. Barring a trade or buyout, Schneider is locked in at $6 million through 2022.

After winding up with the number seven pick in the Draft Lottery, the Devils could decide to select top Russian goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov. The 18-year old is highly regarded. Given that he plays for KHL power St. Petersburg SKA where current Rangers number one goalie Igor Shesterkin graduated, it could make sense for the long-term of the Devils franchise.

Whatever they decide, they have their new GM and coach in place for 2020-21. We’ll see if Ruff can excel in his likely final NHL stop.

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Weekes: Devils to retain Fitz as GM, hire Ruff as coach

Posted on July 8, 2020 by hasan4978

I’ll start off by giving Weekesie some credit in his new role, he broke some news on this hot summer day and it’s not the first time he’s broken anything Devils-related either. Not that either management hire is all that surprising in the end, well to me anyway. In particular, the move to retain Fitz seemed like a fait accompli since the guy’s been talking for months in the future tense and been thrown out there in every concievable platform to be the team’s main spokesman during this quiet period. Whereas now ex-coach Alain Nasreddine stayed behind the scenes, and is now looking for work though I personally expect him to land on his feet sooner or later back on John Hynes’ staff in Nashville, and perhaps his half season in charge gets him his own gig some day. It won’t be here though.

Process of elimination suggested Fitz would be the long-term GM. Other than interviewing Mike Gillis which seemed almost perfurnctory (or for a higher up position) since Gillis had little interest in going back to being a GM, there were few other known interviews for the GM spot. And if the Devils didn’t hire Fitz, he’d likely have been a GM somewhere else in short order so it’s not really a contreversial hire, despite the fact he was closely tied to deposed GM Ray Shero.

Ruff on the other hand was dissapointing from the aspect of the fact the Devils had so many interviews with big names for the coaching position. One week the rumor was Peter Laviolette, another week the rumor was Gerard Gallant, then there was the curious Richard Gronberg speculation which died down after the highly regarded overseas coach reached an extension with his club team. It just seemed like after waiting months on interim hires to see what the final decisions would be, retaining one guy and hiring another assistant they could have hired weeks ago was a bit of a letdown.

After getting over the letdown I’m actually less anti-Ruff than most though. I mean, a .560 career winning percentage looks good to me right about now. Sure he hasn’t had a ton of playoff success lately (only one series win since 2007), but the Devils have to start making the playoffs again before I care about that. As good of a man as Nasreddine is, and as hard of a worker as Hynes was, Ruff should represent an upgrade behind the bench from anyone we’ve had since the Devils parted ways with Pete DeBoer. Maybe Brian – the long-time Sabres fan and occasional blogger – will have more critical things to say about the man formerly known as Lucky Lindy though. Or Derek for that matter, since Ruff wasn’t exactly a beloved assistant there.

(Speaking of which, what happens now with the Rangers in the play-in tournament…do they need to replace Ruff on staff or does he just work there for the duration? I guess he’d just stay since it’s not like there’s anything to do here atm)

Plus let’s be honest about something else here, Ruff hasn’t coached in three years and this is probably his last kick at the can at being a head guy while Laviolette, Gallant and even Gronborg probably weren’t jumping through hoops to take our job when other, better vacancies could be available to them later in the summer. I wasn’t exactly expecting a big name to even want this job although all of the above getting interviewed was like one big tease. In the end as a Met fan this is a little reminiscent of when Terry Collins came aboard, a guy who’s meant to bring professionalism to a young team during a dark period for the franchise. Right now, I’ll take that kind of tenure as a Devils fan.

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NHL Podcast: Draft Lottery debacle, Panarin, analyzing Rangers vs Hurricanes, Lundqvist and Price comparison

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Derek

Earlier this evening, I did a hockey podcast on some hot topics over on my Hard Hits Network. It went into overtime!

Among the topics covered include the NHL Draft Lottery debacle, Artemi Panarin, a classic series flashback from 1993 between the Leafs and Kings where Gretzky outshined Gilmour.

Plus a closer look at the Rangers vs Hurricanes preliminary match-up. How the teams stack up. Who could be the unsung heroes in the best of five series. What are some keys to a Rangers victory?

In overtime, I take a closer look at the careers of Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price. Both very similar. Which player had the better supporting cast?

Plus more on Alexis Lafreniere. Listen below!

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/hardhits21/2020/06/27/hard-hits-podcast-nhl-lottery-chaos-panarin-rangers

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Panarin quote on escrow is problematic

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Derek

As the calendar is on the verge of changing from June to July, hockey continues to inch closer to an official return. Following a bizarre first part of the perplexing NHL Draft Lottery that will somehow reward a team that made the expanded playoff format with expected top pick Alexis Lafreniere, the league gets ready hopefully to return at the end of July.

With training camps supposed to start on July 10, the Play In round that’ll involve 16 of the 24 teams is ticketed for July 31. That would be the intriguing best of five preliminary series which feature eight match-ups. Four in the East and four out West. They still haven’t officially revealed the two host cities. Although we know one is going to be Las Vegas, which wisely will be the hub for the Eastern teams, there are still questions surrounding what city will host the West. There are issues with Vancouver due to the 14-day rule on anyone entering. It’s looking like Chicago or Columbus could wind up with the West participants. Or perhaps Toronto.

While many fans are excited for the return of the cool sport, there are some concerns including players who have tested positive for the Coronavirus. Auston Matthews was revealed by the Maple Leafs as the biggest name with COVID-19. They didn’t follow protocol. Why who knows. But hopefully, the 47-goal scorer will be fully recovered by the time camp rolls around. He’s self isolated and has likely been retested.

What if some players have the pandemic as the tournament unfolds? Obviously, having expanded rosters can help. They’ll have to be extra careful to test everyone and do daily temperature checks. This is a full contact sport where players will go through a wall to help their teams win in the playoffs. Well, at least most should. It’ll be interesting to follow which players go above and beyond after basically a four month layoff in the middle of the summer. A totally different scenario than what they’re used to.

While you do have to worry about containing the virus so they can complete the 2019-20 season and award a Stanley Cup winner this Fall, there is another pressing issue that nobody is talking about. Well, except for Rangers MVP candidate Artemi Panarin. In a ballsy move, the electrifying Russian superstar who led his new team with a career high 95 points including 32 goals, 63 assists with a plus-36 rating to top all NHL forwards, put out a statement via Instagram and Twitter on escrow that he feels very strongly about.

https://twitter.com/artemiypanarin/status/1276238515408338948?s=19

In regards to escrow which has increased owners’ pockets with added revenue, he’s correct. The players don’t get as much of their full salaries due to the agreement on the partnership in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Something former Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Toews alluded to. It’s noteworthy that the 28-year old former Blackhawks teammate of Toews feels it’s important for the escrow issue to be resolved before the NHLPA reports to camp. Will they actually come out in support of the Bread Man, or is just returning and playing enough? We’ll see what happens.

New York Post scribe Larry Brooks has long been a proponent of the players. He’s basically the mouthpiece of the NHLPA, always going on the attack against the NHL when it comes to the topic of escrow. While I am not a big fan of the veteran writer, he occasionally raises good points in his Sunday column Slap Shots. When he doesn’t fly off the wall like his insistence on including Henrik Lundqvist in the same conversation with Martin Brodeur as the best number 30, which even Blueshirts supporters know is preposterous, Mr. Brooks can still be a interesting read.

While I do agree that the escrow needs to be fixed for the long-term relationship between the players and owners, I feel the timing of Panarin’s bold statement is off. I think hockey will win out here. Most players want to play. The next CBA will decide if anything changes. At least they have a better working relationship than Major League Baseball.

My feeling is that once camps hopefully start up, this topic will go away. It’s too imperative that they finish the season. There’s a lot at stake. Particularly with revenue. Nobody wants there to be no conclusion to what was an exciting year where you had as many as five Hart Trophy candidates. The Oilers duo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Boston superstar David Pastrnak. Panarin, who Avalanche MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon endorsed. Plus Sabres do everything center Jack Eichel, who likely will finish fifth or sixth due to another playoff miss in Buffalo.

Who knows what will happen with the expanded format. Sure. You’ll have strong favorites like the Bruins, Lightning, Blues and Avalanche entering the Stanley Cup phase. However, you don’t really know how it’ll turn out. Four months is a long time to go without playing games. Maybe one of the survivors of the Play In round can make a run. The Rangers will be taking on the Hurricanes. That should be good. Other series to follow include the Blue Jackets and Leafs, Canucks and Wild, and Jets versus Flames.

What about which team falls short in this preliminary round? What lucky loser will wind up winning Part Two of the Draft Lottery? Someone will get Lafreniere. It doesn’t seem fair. I’ll have more on that in my next post.

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Mayhem and chaos ensue after draft lotto assures Lafreniere goes to play-in team

Posted on June 26, 2020 by hasan4978

I’m sure Derek will have his own vent on the draft lottery later on, even if his team actually has a shot at getting the top pick with a play-in loss. I’m mostly posting about it to give a mea culpa. Derek was right and I was wrong, I defended the concept of play-in playoffs being tied to giving those teams a shot at the lottery. I thought it was a fair compromise, the price of bringing extra teams into the bubble and making sure all the teams that were close to a playoff berth (along with a couple that weren’t) had a fair shot in an unfair season and also throwing playoff teams forced into the play-in series a bone in case they got upset.

No, I’m not doing an about face because the Devils’ lotto luck finally ran out. Quite honestly going from 6 to 7 was the most statistically likely result for us, we’ve already had enough good luck for like ten lotteries since we won our last ‘three’ (inlcluding Adam Larsson, which only bumped us from #8 to #4 overall thanks to the rules in place then). Nor am I even annoyed that a play-in team will luck into the #1 overall pick this year, at least not per se. Teams that have minute odds have been jumping the lottery every year.

What made me change my mind about the absurdity of this year’s double lottery is the realization that the Devils were a couple of wins away from this play-in tournament and getting a 12.5% chance of lucking into yet ANOTHER #1 overall, and how that fact would actually incentivize losing for the fanbase. Not for the players or even management, teams can’t realistically tank a shot at the playoffs just because of a 1 in 8 chance of winning a lotto although people are going crazy imagining that very concept. However fanbases are free to feel how they want, and fans of mediocre or bad teams like Montreal, the Blackhawks, etc are definitely going to weigh the 1/8 chance of getting the #1 pick versus the minute chance of actually advancing in the playoffs and be very conflicted, to put it mildly.

I’d never advocate tanking or rooting for the team to lose, even in the hypothetical of us squeezing into the play-in tournament I laid out. Which by the way would have put us against a rival Penguin team while having to debate rooting for the tank, ironic as it would have been given the events of the most infamous draft tank of all time in 1984. As distasteful as rooting for the team to lose is to me, I’m not sure I could even blame anyone for going the other way on it considering the chances of winning the lottery are much greater than advancing in the playoffs would be for us or even Derek’s team. And THAT is what changed my mind about this lottery. As well-intended as I think it was to try to throw a compromise to everyone, incentivizing losing for fans is never a good thing.

And also cynically I think if the NHL could have picked a result out of tonight, it would have been this. Now they get weeks of breathless speculation and can hype up the Lafreniere lottery as another TV event, with a chance of him going to some prime markets. Nobody would have really cared to watch a drawing for the #2 or #3 picks, and the play-in teams would have furrowed their brows if they didn’t get a lottery win out of this configuration.

Posted in Devils, NHL Draft | Tagged | 2 Comments

Hockey’s back tonight…sort of

Posted on June 26, 2020 by hasan4978
HAMILTON, ON - JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White skates during the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team Red at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

It’s hard to believe it’s been three and a half months since the NHL (and really the world) came to a screeching halt and hit the world’s biggest speedbump in terms of everyday life. I didn’t realize it’s already been that long until I was thinking back to mid-March and the last time the NHL or any other major sport had any kind of daily relevance for me. We’re now at the end of June and as all the major sports try to creep toward playing, cases are spiking up again around the country, and big-time athletes like tennis’ Novak Djokovic and hockey’s own Auston Matthews are also testing positive for COVID-19.

In some ways tonight’s draft lottery is the NHL’s return to the North American stage, even though the return to play plan was already announced some weeks ago, it’s still a theory to me until guys are actually on the ice and playing wherever the NHL’s going to have its ‘hub cities’. Tonight is really the first big moment for the NHL since the mid-March pause, on or off the ice. This time, Canadian winger Alexis Lafreniere (pictured above) is the top prize at stake for the 24(!) teams with a shot at winning the top pick. Yet, theoretically we might not know who gets any of the top three picks if the blank cards for play-in round losers come up in all the lottery winner spots. You can argue the logic of this one-off lottery if you wish, I know Derek’s not high on it. Rumor is the league may announce its intended hub cities tonight to coincide with the draft lottery.

Personally, as a Devils fan I’m ambivalent to the lottery at the moment. Oh sure I’ll be watching and celebrate in the moment if somehow lightning strikes thrice and the Devils vault into the top three from outside it yet again (though this time they’ll have to do it without lottery good luck charm Taylor Hall). At the same time, it’ll also feel a bit embarassing if we really corner the market on lotto luck Oilers-style. I couldn’t really blame opposition fans for being bitter if that was the case. It’s not even as if our last two lotto wins have set the world on fire yet. Sure, Nico Hischier looks like a solid two-way player and Jack Hughes still has plenty of time to improve on a rookie season that was just as lost as the franchise on the whole. And even winning the lottery under the previous system only just gained us more distant futures as we went from Adam Larsson to Hall to the picks and prospects we got for cashing out on him.

Still it’s nice to have something tangible that’ll finally matter somewhat in terms of one of my sports teams. While the NFL tries to plow through its offseason like it’s business as usual, it’s still the actual offseason. Though I pay little more than casual attention to the NBA (loosely still a Nets fan, but once I started getting into hockey as a teenager I wasn’t as big a basketball fan after that), they’ve been in the same limbo as the NHL and are arguably in more danger going down to Orlando to attempt to add on a few games to its regular season before the playoffs. Baseball, well we know what a disaster that’s been with the sport getting shut down on the eve of the season and then unneccesary and petty labor fights proving to be a pox on everyone’s house dominating the interim before time ran out and a 60-game season had to be implemented without an agreement. At least for once the NHL wasn’t the sport that had to default to a shutdown over labor issues.

Ironically it was the first of these major labor issues under commisioner Gary Bettman that was the backdrop for the Devils’ first Stanley Cup in the 1995 NHL season, which didn’t begin until late January and stalled the momentum the NHL got from a dramatic 1994 playoffs that briefly put the league on track to gain much-needed mainstream exposure in the US, especially after baseball’s own labor issues obliterated their season and dragged into 1995 as well. Instead of an 82-game season we had a 48-game sprint where the league’s two best teams in 1994 both struggled, the Rangers barely squeezing into the playoffs as an 8 seed following their emotional curse-breaking Cup win in 1994 while the Devils finished an ordinary fifth in the East, needing an early Spring surge to avoid the bubble themselves.

Going into the playoffs the story surrounding the Devils wasn’t whether they could win a Cup but rather, would they even BE in New Jersey after 1995? Rumors of a move to Nashville swirled around the team the whole Spring and to me created a bit more urgency for the franchise to win. Even as a teenager then, I felt the team needed to win it all to avoid moving, a little like a real-life Major League movie. Would I even still be a hockey fan if the Devils had moved? I certainly would have missed out on the Devils’ dynasty cause there’s no way I would have rooted for them in Nashville in a pre-WWW age of actually being able to keep up with teams more easily around the globe. I could have pictured being stuck with rooting for the Islanders during their dark ages and becoming disillusioned. Maybe I would have gotten more interest back in the NBA as the Nets became good in the early 2000’s.

Though the Devils were on the road for every series that playoff I knew they could win any series, at least in the East. Detroit loomed out West with their league-best record, and a talented group under legendary coach Scotty Bowman. First the Devils had to get to the Finals though, and they disposed of Boston and Pittsburgh in five games during the first two rounds much to the surprise of the ‘experts’, then in the Conference Finals came the rival Flyers who had the best record in the East and a young, talented team led by the guy who looked like the NHL’s next superstar in Eric Lindros. Philly had disposed of the defending champion Rangers in a second-round sweep, but it looked like the shoe was on the other foot against the Devils as the team from Jersey got up 2-0 with a pair of convincing wins in the City of Brotherly Love.

Perhaps overconfidence kicked in, and the Devils lost Games 3 and 4 at East Rutherford, giving the Flyers back home-ice as the teams went to Philly for the pivotal Game 5. Although many will cite Scott Stevens’ hit on Slava Kozlov or Scott Niedermayer’s end-to-end goal during the Finals as the most memorable play from that year, to me the moment I’ll always think of from the postseason is Claude Lemieux’s pivotal tie-breaking goal in the fifth game at Philly. With the teams less than a minute from OT it had already more or less become sudden death for Game 5, and the Devils staring at possibly being down 3-2 after three straight losses it was the eventual Conn Smythe winner who saved the day, with an assist from the ill-fated Ron Hextall in the Flyers’ net.

Now with the momentum and the home-ice in Game 6, the Devils dominated most of the night and clinched their first SCF berth in front of an approving home crowd. Against Detroit in the SCF while I knew it wasn’t going to be the sweep or blowout people figured I was worried we could lose a tight seven-game series, but the Devils continued to mystify the experts by winning the first two in Detroit, with the aformentioned Niedermayer goal breaking a third-period tie in Game 2. I knew the issue was settled after the Devils’ dominant Game 3 win. I was so comfortable I even fell asleep on the couch toward the end of the third period with the Devils up 5-0. Game 4 wasn’t quite the same fait accompli but after Shawn Chambers’ tying goal at the end of a first period dominated by Detroit, you just knew the Devils weren’t going to be denied at home. It was during the close of Game 4 that another iconic image of that postseason happened.

Grinder Mike Peluso got so emotional over winning the Cup he had to miss a shift or two towards the end of the game breaking down on the bench. Even since then I haven’t seen too many visceral reactions like that, at least during the actual game. Also noteworthy about the clips above is the broadcasting team – the Devils’ own Doc Emrick who’s clearly the best announcer in hockey, and the Rangers’ John Davidson who for a long time was the best analyst in the business before getting back into the NHL in a management capacity. You still can’t have a better duo doing national games. And Emrick, who was associated with the Devils for over two decades got to do the memorable call of their first title.

‘The championship to New Jersey…the Devils win the Stanley Cup!’

Short and sweet, much like the series itself. Fortunately the epilogue also had a happy ending for Devils fans as NJ native McMullen spurned the offer from Nashville at the last minute and kept the team in New Jersey, seemingly at a great cost as McMullen was forced to sell the team just after their second title in 2000. Did the championship and the fans’ reaction at the arena celebration (I refuse to call it a ‘parking lot parade’) several days later compel McMullen to let sentiment win out? Perhaps. Staying in NJ proved to be the best for everyone else involved, as the Devils built a model franchise for two decades while Nashville would get their own popular expansion team in 1998.

Those days seem a long way off now, all things considered. Both because of the state of the current team and society as a whole. Not to mention on a certain level it was depressing realizing it was 25 years since that championship and many of the faces involved with the team are no longer around, other than Ken Daneyko who parlayed being a popular player into a team color guy shortly after his career ended in 2003. Matt Loughlin, who was then a TV analyst is now the team’s radio play-by-play guy. And after Martin Brodeur moved on as a player following the 2014 season, he returned to the organization in a management capacity last offseason.

I don’t want to get melancholy however, I do think better days are ahead though we’re definitely in for some more rocky ones as a country. For the team itself? Well it can’t get much worse than it was the first half of last year.

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Revisiting Alex Mogilny after another snub

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Derek

Alex Mogilny was not only a great finisher, but a terrific playmaker during a 16-year NHL career that remains overlooked by some clueless writers of the Hockey Hall of Fame. One day, he’ll make it. Getty Images

It was a year ago that I wrote a special piece on why Alex Mogilny deserved to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His 1032 points over 990 games with four NHL teams (Sabres, Canucks, Devils, Maple Leafs, Devils) is proof of the elite player he was.

A unique player with explosive breakaway speed, lethal wrist shot, deke and terrific playmaking skills that remain overlooked, Mogilny remains out of the Hall. They revealed the 2020 Class yesterday. For the most part, it is a strong class headlined by Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa. Each were locks. Also revealed was long overdue former defenseman Doug Wilson. A Norris winner who produced at a high level.

The most startling newest member is Kevin Lowe. A six-time Stanley Cup winner who was a key cog for all five Edmonton Cups that were highlighted by Gretzky and Messier, the solid skating defenseman had a good career. He even came to New York and was a unsung hero on the ’93-94 Rangers where he paired with 2019 Hall of Famer Sergei Zubov. They certainly got a lot of mileage out of the veteran, who again celebrated another championship with captain Mark Messier down the Canyon of Heroes.

There’s no question that Lowe was a good player who was solid throughout a long career playing twice for Edmonton where he ended along with his time spent on Broadway. A player who never won any major awards, playing for six Cup winners definitely helped Lowe get in. He was underrated during his NHL career. I was impressed with the minutes he provided for the Rangers. He was a warrior. A guy who could play the position and absorb a hit for the good of the team.

When I think of Lowe, I don’t think Hall of Fame. There’s nothing wrong with that. In a class that also includes outstanding Canadian women’s national team hockey star Kim St-Pierre and builder Ken Holland, Lowe is the one question mark. It isn’t meant as disrespectful. It’s just that compared to accomplished former stars such as Mogilny and what’s now looking like a blackballed Jeremy Roenick for stuff off the ice, he’s the one member who could’ve been passed over. Whether it was for Daniel Alfredsson, Mogilny, Roenick or Theo Fleury, those four were in a different class.

In regards to Mogilny, who will have to wait another year, it feels wrong. How many times can one of Russia’s biggest stars be snubbed? So he didn’t quite reach the magical 500 goal club due to injuries. What about the single best season by a Russian born player in NHL history? Taken from my piece written last November:

“The 127 points are the most ever by a Russian born player in an individual season. Not even Sergei Fedorov beat him in his Hart year during ’93-94 when he posted 56 goals with 64 assists for 120 points with a plus-48 rating. The best season ever by a Russian player.“

Notice I never said Mogilny was Fedorov, who was a remarkably productive two-way center. I didn’t say he’s Alex Ovechkin either, who is a lock once his unreal career concludes. Will he challenge Wayne Gretzky? I never even put him in Pavel Bure’s league in terms of finishing. The Russian Rocket was astonishing to watch and his career was over too soon. He’s in BTW. What’s the deal with Mogilny? Is it the fact injuries prevented better numbers? He didn’t reach 1000 games. But he won a Cup in New Jersey and proved he could score at an elite level in that system during ’00-01 when he tallied 43 goals and 83 points while boosting Scott Gomez and Sergei Brylin.

Alexander The Great as legendary Sabres announcer Rick Jeanneret referred to him while he was torching opposing goalies during a memorable ’92-93 that saw him tie rookie Teemu Selanne for the league lead in goals (76), was simply an exciting player to watch. He sure worked well with Hall of Famer Pat Lafontaine, whose career was cut short by concussions. It didn’t prevent the same Hall of Fame writers from inducting him.

Is it a bias against a Russian player, who is a Triple Gold Member? When you have them inducting solid two-way centers such as Guy Carbonneau and Bob Gainey, who are both Canadian and won in Montreal, it makes you wonder. What is the criteria or thinking? Does anyone believe Carbonneau is a Hall of Famer? I know he was a good player that won multiple Selke Trophies for his ability to check top scoring lines. He also helped the Stars win their only Cup in ’98-99. But how is he in over guys like Mogilny, Fleury, Alfredsson and Roenick? Even Steve Larmer was better and I don’t see him making it anytime soon.

It’s mystifying to this passionate hockey fan blogger that a player of Mogilny’s stature remains outside the Hall in Toronto. Sure. I was very impressed with his ’95-96 year without Bure, who went down to a torn ACL early. Mogilny only put up 55 goals and 52 assists for 107 points at age 26. His first season on Vancouver after being traded from Buffalo for a package that helped the Sabres land future captain Michael Peca. The breakdown of his goals that season are 40 even strength, 10 power play and five shorthanded. Many people may not realize it. But Mogilny totaled 20 shorthanded goals in his 16-year career. He was mostly a productive player at five-on-five and on the plus side of the ledger only winding up a minus three times. Two in abbreviated years including his last in his sad reunion with the Devils in ’05-06 due to injuries.

You know. Bure wound up with 437 goals in 702 games when his career ended at 31 in Manhattan. Mogilny totaled 473 in 990. So not as lethal a finisher, but a better overall player due to his ability to find the open man. He wound up with 559 assists. He not only paced the 2000-01 Devils in goals (43). But added 40 helpers while leading them in even strength goals (31), tying for first in power play goals (12) and finishing tops in game-winners (7).

He made teammates better. Maybe there’s a misconception about Mogilny due to his finishing ability. An eight-time 30-goal scorer who topped 70 once, 50 once and 40 once, Mogilny deserves his place in Toronto. If he doesn’t make it next year when Alfredsson is sure to be going in with possibly Rod Brind’Amour, it will remain a mystery as to why.

Put Number 89 in where he belongs!

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Happy 25th Anniversary to Devils and Hasan

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Derek

It’s June 24, 2020. It was 25 years ago today that the New Jersey Devils won their first Stanley Cup. That was on a hot summer night in 1995 at the old Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford.

The ’95 Devils didn’t have the best regular season. However, they gelled at the right time during a shortened 48-game season. Former architect Lou Lamoriello made two crucial moves that put them over the top by adding former Stars Neal Broten and Shawn Chambers. Both scored twice in their 5-2 home clincher to take Game Four and sweep the Red Wings.

Even though top finisher Claude Lemieux won the Conn Smythe with 13 goals in the tournament, you could’ve made a argument for Broten, who wound up with 19 points in the postseason following 28 in 30 after coming over for Corey Millen in a steal of a deal. The veteran who had spent his whole career first as a North Star and Star, was instrumental in the Devils lifting the Cup under coach Jacques Lemaire. He was always a superb player and fit in perfectly.

Ditto for Chambers, who was a better fit for the Devs after trading Slava Fetisov to ironically the Red Wings where he fit in well under Scotty Bowman, becoming part of the Russian Five in Motown. They would go on to win back-to-back Cups in Fetisov’s final two years.

I always found it interesting that so many prognosticators believed the Red Wings were heavy favorites to win that series. After playing a little prank on one of my college buddies at Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison with a sarcastic 19-Never sign before headed home for the summer, I had a feeling the Devils would win that year. Especially after being so close against the Rangers the year before.

It didn’t matter that they were 22-18-8 which was good enough for second in the division and the East’s fifth seed. They had the experience edge over the Red Wings, who sure boasted great Hall of Fame talent in Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Dino Ciccarelli, Paul Coffey, Nick Lidstrom, Mark Howe, Fetisov and likely Chris Osgood later today. Even though the overlooked Mike Vernon was the starter. How Vladimir Konstantinov isn’t in is beyond me. It’s like what they’re doing to Alex Mogilny, who isn’t expected to be announced later as part of the 2020 Class. Ditto for Jeremy Roenick.

As dominant as those Wings were going 33-11-4 with a league best 70 points over 48 games, they were no match for the Devils. New Jersey had one tough opponent by pulling out the last two games over the Flyers to take a compelling Eastern Conference Final in six games. They only lost once to Boston and once to the Penguins in the first two rounds. Detroit had only two defeats entering the Stanley Cup Final. One apiece to the Stars and Blackhawks.

I always felt the Devils were underestimated entering that Final. They were a true four line team that featured the famed Crash Line of Bobby Holik, Mike Peluso and Randy McKay. You had proven vets like Lemieux, Stephane Richer, John MacLean, Broten, Bruce Driver, Scott Stevens, Ken Daneyko, Tommy Albelin, Tom Chorske and Bobby Carpenter. They also had young talent in future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, Bill Guerin, Brian Rolston, Sergei Brylin and the other young future legend in Scott Niedermayer. Plus Stevens, who captained all three Devils teams to championships and also is in the Hall of Fame.

They were a T-E-A-M. They proved it by beating the favored Red Wings in four straight. Total domination. You can’t measure the heart of a champion. That was a quote they had on their bulletin board per Doc Emrick on his ironic call that night on Fox with partner John Davidson. The quote was from two-time NBA Champion Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets. As for Emrick’s final call, it went like this:

Championship to New Jersey. The Devils are Stanley Cup Champions!!!

Simple and to the point for the same legendary announcer we’ve come to love 25 years later. Doc is the Voice of hockey having gone from Fox to ABC with JD to NBC where he now partners with Eddie Olczyk. Doc’s enthusiasm has always been great for the sport along with his vocabulary. He’s like a walking talking encyclopedia of knowledge. I’m glad I got the chance to work with him during the ’00-01 season. He is a true pro.

It’s funny that all these years later, my friend Robert Davis still jokes about how heavy a favorite the Red Wings were. I never bought it. Maybe it was my intuition and knowledge from how tough that team was for the Rangers to beat. I knew. I’m not right often. But in that case 25 years ago on a balmy summer night, I was.

I made sure to congratulate my friend Ken too on his team winning after my prank. I think I knew they were gonna win. At least I like to tell myself that all this time later.

Enjoy your 25th Anniversary Hasan.

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Feeling a playoff tournament, Sabres chaos

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Derek

In a chaotic time that won’t change anytime soon, believe it or not, playoff hockey is inching closer. With Phase 2 finally about to hit in NYC, players will start reporting to training camp.

This all seems very strange. Normally by now, we’re crowning a Stanley Cup winner. Instead, most of us are waiting in anticipation of hockey getting clearance to restart in July. Such is the complex state of the country due to COVID-19. A pandemic that has affected so many people. An unnamed Penguin tested positive for it. So did a Bruin.

Despite all the protests due to racial injustice, we’re not out of the woods yet. That must be kept in mind when it comes to determining if the 2019-20 season will be completed. The NBA will be going through similar protocols with testing for all players front and center. That’s CDC regulation.

I realize this is a very hard time for everyone. But this is a hockey blog. I already gave my synopsis on how bad things are due to the senseless murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. It is what it is. Hopefully, justice will be served. All four cops are in custody. I won’t comment further. That includes the most recent controversial event in Atlanta, which isn’t cut and dry.

Of course, you have plenty of commentary and action from athletes in different sports including the NHL. That’s good. They shouldn’t stay quiet. In regards to the Rangers, they haven’t made a statement due to CEO James Dolan. If that’s how he wants it, then there’s nothing they can do. Their hands are tied. It is kind of sad that this is how both tenants at Madison Square Garden are run. Not that I feel every team has an obligation here. But if you have almost every organization condemning the actions of a few idiotic cops, then it makes the Knicks and Rangers look bad. You know who to blame.

Regardless, there’s a pretty good chance hockey will return. For 24 teams, that means holding camps and getting players up to speed. The skating especially along with the workouts will be intense. We’re going on three months since the NHL paused following the last slate of games on Mar. 11. Just imagine how tough it’ll be on these players to get the rust out by mid to late July. Exactly.

So, for the top four seeds in each Conference, all bets are off. Sure. They’ll play a round robin to determine the top four seeds. I don’t understand that part. It seems a bit unfair to both Boston and St. Louis. However, all eight teams need to play games so they’re not behind when the real playoffs begin. You will have eight preliminary series taking place. All best of five with each winner advancing to the more traditional 16 team tournament.

Here’s the thing. This won’t be like the previous postseasons. It won’t be divisional format. Instead, it’ll be by seed meaning they’ll reseed after each round. That’s the fairest way to do this. Personally, I feel the divisional format has run its course. You have too many heavyweight second round match-ups. That isn’t ideal. Especially when it’s again the Bruins and Lightning looking like the best two teams in the East. Out West, it’s a bit closer even though the Blues and Avalanche have the most points. The Golden Knights are a legit threat despite fewer points.

It certainly will be interesting to see what transpires. Out West, it’s the Blues, Avalanche, Golden Knights and Stars vying for the top seed. In the East, you have the NHL-leading Bruins, Lightning, Capitals and Flyers competing for the number one spot. However it goes, it’ll be the highest seed versus the lowest seed left after the play ins. And so forth.

By now, we’ve learned about Vegas being one hub that will host the Eastern Conference Playoffs. That makes sense. Where the Western Conference winds up remains to be seen. Hopefully, it’s somewhere East. It only seems fair.

I’m not going to delve into anymore on the preliminary best three out of five match-ups. We know what they are. As we draw nearer, I’ll focus more on the Rangers and Hurricanes, who are being underestimated by many despite a good roster that’s more proven under a good coach. I don’t foresee it being a cakewalk for our side despite the season series. Throw that out.

You’ll have compelling series including the Islanders and sleeper Panthers, who could make some noise if the real Sergei Bobrovsky shows up. Plus the pesky Blue Jackets led by Elvis Merzlikins against the star studded Maple Leafs that feature Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander. A unique contrast. The heavy underdog Canadiens leaning on Carey Price, Shea Weber and Nick Suzuki against the top heavy Crosby/Malkin Penguins which include Jake Guentzel ‘if’ healthy, Kris Letang, Jason Zucker and Tristan Jarry.

The West has Hart front-runner Leon Draisaitl teamed with wunderkind Connor McDavid and overlooked pivot Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse leading the Oilers against the Kane/Toews Blackhawks which also feature Dominik Kubalik. You have the pesky Coyotes led by Darcy Kuemper looking to stifle the Predators, who have key guys such as Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi and Viktor Arvidsson. There’s the Wild leaning on emerging star Kevin Fiala and vets Zach Parise, Eric Staal and Ryan Suter, going up against the younger talented Canucks that boast Elias Pettersson, JT Miller, possibly Brock Boeser and Calder hopeful Quinn Hughes. Plus a cool Canadian rivalry between the Flames and Jets involving Calgary headliners Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Giordano and maybe Cam Talbot in net to deal with Winnipeg studs Mark Schiefele, Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, Neal Pionk and netminder Conor Hellebuyck.

I feel much better about this tournament than I did a month ago when they first revealed it. It’s much better than the NBA and certainly makes the MLB latest desperation proposal to the players look weak. There’s some actual excitement for this.

I’ll be honest. I’m going to be a lot more invested in my team this time around. This is a unique opportunity for David Quinn to get this exciting mix of Blueshirts featuring Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad ready for an experienced group of Canes that made it to the Conference Finals last year. Having Chris Kreider back should help. But it’ll likely be up to key guys like Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Strome, Jesper Fast, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Tony DeAngelo, Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba if they’re to advance to the big dance. Ditto for Igor Shesterkin.

Can they handle the pressure of a Canes team being underestimated despite stars Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov and rover Dougie Hamilton, who’ll be back patrolling that blueline? What of added center Vincent Trocheck and proven Jordan Staal along with Nino Niederreiter, Jaccob Slavin and tandem Petr Mrazek and James Reimer? It’s bound to be interesting.

Final thought. What the Buffalo Sabres did in firing 22 people including GM Jason Botterill is absurd. What exactly is the thinking? I can see axing Botterill, whose disappointing track record included giving away Ryan O’Reilly to the 2019 Stanley Cup champion Blues for a weak package centered around Tage Thompson. However, never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d sack 22 total including a successful AHL staff in Rochester. They subtracted many scouts and then strangely elevated the unproven Kevyn Adams to GM. Wowza.

It’s fairly obvious that Jack Eichel speaking out once the season was officially over had a enormous affect. I don’t get why co-owner Kim Pegula is so involved in the decision making. What does she know about running a hockey franchise? It seems her and husband Terry are free to do what they want. They’ve now sacked three general managers including Darcy Regier, Tim Murray and now Botterill. Coaches change a lot with Phil Housley not working out the way Botterill envisioned. Well, at least the current coaching staff survived.

Tell me how any of this makes sense. There’s a reason it’ll be exactly a decade since Buffalo last saw the playoffs. It starts with the ownership. The same one that’s allowed the football outfit the Buffalo Bills to be run by NFL people. This is Knicks level bad. How about hiring a Team President? Not in Western New York.

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And Justice For All

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Derek

I wasn’t sure I was going to address the elephant in the room. However, after careful consideration, I feel it’s only right to devote a concise post on the recent tragedy of George Floyd that took place last week in Minneapolis.

As we are fully aware, he was the victim of a racist act by a police officer. Whenever such senseless tragedies occur, I can’t make any sense out of it. This isn’t a political blog. It’s a hockey one. Hopefully pretty soon, we can get back to posting about hockey assuming it returns next month as planned.

Unfortunately, the unjust death of Floyd due to the disgusting actions of that awful cop along with his three peers, has resulted in plenty of protests around the country. No. I don’t care to mention the former cop by name. They’re charged with second degree murder and could face anywhere between 15 to 25 years if convicted. They must do the right thing and send a message. The other three deserve lighter sentences too to pay for their irresponsible non action. A life could’ve been saved.

Instead, here we are again following another one of these terrible incidents involving police. There are other cases that will get more media coverage too. At what point does the madness end? We live in America. The land of the free and home of the brave. That’s why I titled this post, “And Justice For All.” It is part of the pledge of allegiance. It’s not a reference to a great Metallica album. It’s about everyone being treated fairly in this country and getting justice.

Racism is Unacceptable. It isn’t only a issue with black Americans. However, they still suffer more indignities than any other race or ethnicity. In the year 2020 during the 21st century, it shouldn’t be like this anymore. There is too much hatred here. Way too much division. It’s not healthy.

As someone of Jewish descent who understands about persecution throughout history, I have always felt that you should treat others the way you want to be treated. That’s with respect. There should be more peace and love in the United States of America. It doesn’t matter what side you’re on politically. For the record, I’m not on either anymore. I’m an independent free thinker who isn’t going to be voting in the Presidential Election. For a simple reason. Neither candidate is worth supporting. I don’t think either can positively impact what plagues us as a society. Who knows. Maybe I’ll write in John F Kennedy. I’ll be voting locally.

That’s as far as I’ll go on the ugly word of politics. It’s destroying this country. There is no unity. Only chaos and lack of common sense and decency. I’m glad I have intelligent friends who understand that this trend can’t continue. They believe in good causes and want what’s best for everyone. I am proud to say I have friends of different colors, race and ethnicity. I can get along well with everyone.

It’s just very unsettling how things are. When I have to be concerned over an extremist group like Antifa, who’s rumored to be hitting our area prior to a organized peaceful protest this weekend in Tottenville by the historic Conference House, it’s worrisome. I just hope and pray for everyone’s safety.

I’m upset at the prevailing thought of some that generalizes cops as <insert ugly name>. That’s not true. I know good policemen who do the job and are out on the streets putting their lives on the line every day. Like it or not, we live in a cruel world. Crimes are committed. The looting and riots I saw on video thanks to NY 1’s Shannan Ferry was sickening. It’s unacceptable. I know it’s not the true protesters who want to have their voices heard. It’s the criminals who feed off the negativity and are hired guns, whose only purpose is to further divide by creating tension.

I think I speak for most when I say I don’t condone the despicable acts of those four cops that murdered George Floyd. He didn’t resist arrest and lied face down on the ground. Totally defenseless. There was no reason for him to lose his life. Just like Eric Garner out in Stapleton on the North Shore of Staten Island. Of course, I have a lot more knowledge on that case. There were different circumstances. He didn’t deserve to die. It wasn’t just the fired cop either. Similar to Minnesota.

It says a lot about the Floyd family when they have both spoken out and sounded more composed. Particularly his brother who relayed a strong message to protesters at a rally. He informed them that any kind of violence was wrong and not gonna bring his brother back. More violence creates a more toxic environment that doesn’t accomplish anything. Other than more uncivil behavior and possible casualties. Something no one wants.

I want to see better behavior. We shouldn’t need to have a early curfew in the city at this point. But this is where we are. It’s truly a sad time. A confusing one too that can cause grief and anxiety. When you have NYPD cops being shot and more controversy regarding a prisoner who died due to pepper spray in Brooklyn last night, it’s not pleasant for anybody.

Plenty of NHL players have spoken out on the serious issue of racism. The Devils were one of the first teams to put out a statement. My feeling on players and teams doing this is that it’s their choice. It does feel like there’s pressure on organizations to do it. Jim Dolan had to send out an email to clarify that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. He shouldn’t have to. It goes without saying.

Sports and politics should be separate. There are a lot of keyboard warriors who feel the need to express how they feel. I do it through my writing and podcast. I don’t mind discussing the issues. However, I don’t need to do a blackout on Instagram to show solidarity. A black screen isn’t doing anything. It’s our actions that speak louder than our words. We can have voices and be heard by signing petitions or showing support for our friends. Etc.

There are many ways to be active. I just want things to cool down. I know that’s not possible. Thanks to a few idiots, the summer is ruined. When I see people say you’re this for thinking All Lives Matter, I want to bang my head against the wall. I can’t relate to any black person. I don’t know what it’s like to be unfairly targeted. It’s wrong. But what I will say is that every life should matter. Unless you’re a hardened criminal, racist or bad person, you count. If one of us were killed tomorrow, wouldn’t we matter? I sure hope so.

I don’t want to live in a place that makes other people feel guilty. That’s unfair. Just like the ridiculous labels and name calling we see on social media. I think we can be more mature and have civil discussions without fighting like the buffoons in Washington DC. We are better than that.

Let’s show it! 💜💛👍🙏✌

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