Eastern Conference teams far from road warriors

Posted November 17, 2009 10:00 pm

By Tim Sassone

You couldn't blame John Madden for not knowing how to pack for the Blackhawks' six-game road trip that starts on Thursday in Calgary.

Madden had it easy in the Eastern Conference with New Jersey for all those years, where road trips to play the Rangers, Islanders and Flyers were made by bus.

In fact, last season the Devils played only six of their 41 road games outside of the Eastern time zone.

"In Jersey we bused to three places and had a lot of hour flights when we were back in our bed at night," Madden said. "The guys in the East have it pretty good. There's no complaining over there. But I'm looking forward to this trip and being with the guys."

The Hawks will play 16 times this season in either the Mountain or Western time zones. And that's not counting the two games they played in Finland to start the season.

It really isn't fair how much travel teams in the Western Conference do compared to the clubs in the Eastern Conference, especially at playoff time, but it's just another issue where the NHL has its head in the sand.

The San Jose Sharks had a six-game road trip to Washington, New York, Tampa, Atlanta and Philadelphia in late October, then after two at home went back to Carolina on Nov. 1.

"My friend in Carolina, Eric Staal, says he was back in bed by midnight every night last year whether he played on the road or not," Hawks winger Patrick Sharp said.

"It's definitely an advantage to be over there, but we kind of look at it as a positive for us. We like being on the road. A lot of guys in here are from Western Canada, and it's always nice to go to California when the weather gets back here in Chicago. It's tough to bounce around through the time zones, but it gets boring staying in the same area all the time."

Send in the clowns

The Bulls' Joakim Noah might not know why it's called the circus road trip despite it being his third season in the NBA, but Hawks captain Jonathan Toews does.

"I figured it out by now - it's been three years," Toews said Tuesday. "I thought it was just a long road trip my first year."

Shanahan retires

There are no more comebacks in Brendan Shanahan's future. The eight-time all-star winger announced his retirement on Tuesday after 21 seasons in the NHL.

Shanahan's next stop will be the Hockey Hall of Fame thanks to his 656 goals and 1,354 points.

Around the rinks

• Stop the bidding. According to Canucks GM Mike Gillis, Peter Forsberg won't be coming to the NHL.

Forsberg will play for Modo in Sweden instead because he's not sure if his foot and ankle problems are over.

• Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer told he Newark Star-Ledger he thought it was possible he might be traded before the March 3 deadline.

If Niedermayer is put on the block, look for the Devils to be first in line. Ducks GM Bob Murray is losing patience with his team at 6-10-3 so changes could be coming.

"It's about time some of these people prove that they're good hockey players," Murray told the Orange County Register.

• Things aren't going well in St. Louis either, where owner Dave Checketts called a press conference last week to say it was time to turn things around.

The Blues are 6-8-4 and have scored a league low 41 goals.

"I'm frustrated like everybody else and I think it's frankly time to declare the wait over," Checketts said. "Our fans have been patient. I think we've been patient. This team has everything it needs and now is the time to win. We should be, all year long, we should compete for first or second in our division. This team is good enough and that's what we expect."

Coach Andy Murray's job apparently is safe for now.

• There is talk that if the Thrashers want to re-sign Ilya Kovalchuk before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, it might cost them $10 million per season.

The list The top five teams in the NHL approaching the end of the first quarter of the season. 1. San Jose: The Sharks don't have a real weakness and the trade for Dany Heatley has been an impact one so far. 2. New Jersey: Devils were 9-0 on the road before Monday's loss in Philadelphia. 3. Pittsburgh: When they're healthy, the Stanley Cup champion Penguins still are scary good. 4. Blackhawks: They get high marks for battling through some key injuries, but their six-game road trip will be a test. 5. Washington: Like the Hawks, there are worries about the Caps' goaltending for the long haul, but this is a deep club. Ex-Hawk of the week Kyle Calder is back in the NHL with Anaheim after a stint in the ECHL. Calder was part of the ABC Line a few years back in the Hawks' darkest days. Calder led the Hawks in scoring with 59 points in 2005-06 with Mark Bell second and Tyler Arnason third. The team, however, went 26-43-13. Where is the rest of the ABC Line today? Arnason is with the New York Rangers' American Hockey league affiliate in Hartford and was on waivers two weeks ago. Bell is playing in Switzerland.

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