FanHouse BrettHull

With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified. Thursday's installment: the Columbus Blue Jackets

On Saturday, October 7, 2000, the Columbus Blue Jackets played their first ever regular season game. It was a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, and the team would know nothing but losing for the next eight seasons. No playoffs. No winning seasons. Nothing. They have been, simply, the most anonymous, unknown team in the NHL.

On Wednesday, all of that changed as the Blue Jackets, for the first time in franchise history, qualified for the postseason thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over, coincidentally, the Chicago Blackhawks, their very first regular season opponent. So, who are these guys, and what can we expect from them in the playoffs and beyond? Here are five key players, the head coach, and everything else there is to love about this once unknown franchise.

Caveat emptor. I'm sure Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks was aware of the phrase prior to his signing of Sean Avery this past summer, and if he wasn't, he most certainly is now.

Avery, the NHL's super-pest, never seemed to fit in the Stars locker room after signing a four-year, $15.5 million deal, clashing with veterans and failing to produce much of anything on the ice in his brief, 23-game tenure in Dallas. Then came December 2, 2008, when the Stars visited Dion Phaneuf and the Calgary Flames.

As the NHL All-Star Break continues, keep up with FanHouse's coverage of hockey's unofficial midway point.

Some say there's no point to even salvaging this disaster, and Bruce Ciskie and Earl Sleek will debate that point later. For now, my colleague Eric McErlain and I will assume that the game isn't going away, and discuss what's wrong and how to fix it.

When the Dallas Stars host Phoenix on Tuesday night, forward Sean Avery will be eligible to return from his six-game suspension for making some off-color comments about former girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert, and her current squeeze, Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames. It was quite the story for a while, and the Stars have decided they no longer want anything to do with it, or their big offseason acquisition, as they announced today that Avery will not be returning to the team.

TSN has the story, including comments from Stars co-general manager, Brett Hull:

"Sean needs to focus on his own well-being while the Stars hockey team must focus on playing hockey and competing for a playoff spot," said Stars Co-General Manager Brett Hull. "Everyone understands that Sean will not return to the Dallas Stars. We all need to move forward."

So this was the straw that finally broke the camel's back for Avery -- a sex joke. A stupid one, of course. And one that you might be more likely to hear in a high school cafeteria, but a sex joke nonetheless.

The US Hockey Hall of Fame (yes, one does exist) is going to be inducting a very strong group of players this year: Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, and ... Cammi Granato?

Yes, the USHHOF inducted its first ever female into its ranks, with the formal inductions to take place on October 10th. Quite a feat for a women's hockey player to be joining the likes of Hull and Leetch.

"The Class of 2008 is one of the most accomplished groups that's ever been inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. "It is indeed with great pleasure that we welcome them to the group of hockey immortals in our country."

I can already hear the poo-pooing of uncomfortable alpha-male jocks who think inducting Granato is purely a bunch of political correctness. To them, I say "Suck it up!"

I certainly have no problem with including Granato with the other boys, especially since the IIHF did the same back in May, and the fact she's already won a Lester Patrick Trophy for her contributions to hockey in the US of A.

Granato is right behind Hayley Wickenheiser in terms of impact, skill, and promotion of women's hockey in the world, and deserves recognition for her efforts to promote and grow the game.

Now, I can just imagine the arguments she'll have with husband Ray Ferraro over household chores.

Ray: Honey, I don't want to do the dishes again!
Cammi: Yeah, well I don't see YOU in the Hall of Fame, do I? Get scrubbin!
Ray: *fumes*

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Sports fans in Buffalo have been kicked in the balls far too many times (No Goal! Wide Right!), so losing is nothing new and unusual to the people in that wintry city.

That said, the Buffalo Sabres' current problems must be enough to give more than a few Buffalonians a monster case of heartburn. With last night's 2-1 loss to the downstate New York Rangers, the Sabres have now lost TEN games in a row, and are falling from playoff contention with each passing day.

The Sabres are 0-5-5 in their last 10 games. They haven't won since Dec. 22 in Philadelphia and, in fact, are the only team in the NHL without a win in the 2008 calendar year.

"We didn't make a lot of good plays," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We didn't make good decisions and Al [Kotalik] pounded the puck right into Betts every time. I can't yell, 'Don't shoot it,' but you have to bury your head and move it around those guys. We didn't and that was a disappointing part of the game."

Perhaps Lindy and assistant James Patrick ought to lace 'em up and give directions from the ice. At this point, the Sabres need some creative ideas if they are to put a W in the win column some time this calendar year.

The hype machine for the Beverage Sponsorship Money of Which I Do Not Receive a Cut AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic continues to hum. I took part in an informative conference call yesterday in the wake of NBC's announcement that Bob Costas would finally have the opportunity to match the prestige of appearing in "BASEketball" by hosting the NHL's outdoor hockey game in Buffalo on New Year's Day 2008.

NHL on NBC vets Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and producer Sam Flood were joined by newbies "Mad" Mike Milbury and Costas, whose focus is clearly on making a game between what are currently two non-playoff teams into something transcendent, saying that "you don't have to be somebody who follows the NHL day in and day out to enjoy it as an event."

Being that this is a large-scale sporting event with an opportunity for some NBC cross-promotion, someone asked Flood if there would be an NBC celebrity component at the Winter Classic, and specifically about arguably the network's biggest prime-time star and most prominent Canadian, Howie "Deal or No Deal" Mandel. "In terms of Howie Mandel, no plans at this time to have him at the game site. Remember, Jan. 1 is a different kind of day to have these celebs in different locations," said Flood.

Having Mandel at the game, or on any hockey telecast, would obviously be a coup based on his current popularity and general appeal; but it would also be the safe, obvious play. If NBC and the NHL really wanted to create some buzz, they should draft some of the network's stars whose hockey credentials are a little less established. Who isn't tuning in to the Winter Classic pregame show to hear Tracy Morgan of "30 Rock" do five minutes on hockey? Of course, the probability of getting Tracy Morgan to Buffalo, NY on New Year's Day afternoon for a hockey game is about the same as the probability that Jamie-Lynn Spears was going to save it 'til marriage. Some other points of interest from the conference call...

As a New York Mets fan, it's still strange to see Tom Glavine on the mound at Shea, even after four years; after all, he spent 16 seasons making my left-handed hitters look like little bitches as a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. But I've always liked Glavine for the simple reason that he's a hockey guy -- drafted No. 69 overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Besides making for a great trivia question, Glavine's decision to pursue baseball rather than hockey has always fascinated me because he clearly had a passion and a talent for both sports.

As the Mets lefty goes for career win No. 300 on Tuesday night in Milwaukee, Glavine spoke with Bob Herzog of Newsday about that difficult career choice:

"I liked hockey. I was good at it and I was recruited more for hockey than I was for baseball," Glavine said. "It was a big deal. My whole college selection process was based on me not wanting to give up hockey. Major baseball schools were after me, but I was really insistent on trying to go to a school where I could play hockey and baseball."

So he chose Lowell (now UMass-Lowell), where he could play center and pitch. But before heading to college, he had to deal with life's first curveball. He was taken in the fourth round of the NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings and in the second round of the MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves. "Back then in hockey, college was their minor leagues and they were in no hurry to sign you," Glavine said. "In baseball, they tried to sign you, and once I got drafted that high, I had to seriously consider: Do I want to take advantage of a college scholarship to get an education or do I want to take a shot on baseball? Hockey was never really a career factor."

The 1984 NHL Draft remains famous for the players taken long after Glavine went: Brett Hull (117, Calgary) and Luc Robitaille (171, Los Angeles). With those careers in mind, an article on StLucieMets.com (relayed by Population Statistic) had Glavine wondering what his hockey life might have been like:

"I'd like to believe I would have made it. There are guys I played against in high school who have played in the NHL, and we had comparable talent then. But there are no guarantees. ... I know I would have had to become bigger - I was 6-foot-0, 180 [pounds] when I graduated from high school. Either that or find a way to play as Gretzky played. But I think I had a shot to make it."

Two hundred and ninety-nine wins later, I think it's safe to say Glavine made the right decision.

Yellowcard, one of those pop/punk bands that MTV plays in between rap videos, performed live at the NHL Entry Draft in Columbus last weekend, which probably means that the Barenaked Ladies and Five for Fighting had a scheduling conflict. Gotta hand it to the NHL, however: It seems like the league's learned a thing or two about what its audience likes to listen to since it had Jewel stink up perform at the 2002 All-Star Game.

The bass player for Yellowcard, Ryan Mendez, is the band's lone hockey nut; born in Detroit, he's a huge Red Wings fan. So huge, in fact, that he took time from his limited stage banter during the concert to verbally take down a Colorado fan in the crowd, according to Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey:

Toward the later half of the concert, a Colorado Avalanche fan made his way through the crowd holding a sign reading "RED WINGS SUCK" with a bunch of photographs glued on. After seeing that sign, the lead singer tells Ryan to look at that sign. Ryan, who hadn't said a word all concert, steps up to the microphone and says something like this...

Hey "Red Wings Sucks" guy, how did your Avs do in the playoffs? 2nd round? Oh, that's right. They didn't even make the playoffs.

If shouting down an Avs fan wasn't endearing enough, Mendez also told the Blue Jackets' Web site that his passion for hockey was also fueled by playing EA Sports' NHL 93 on Super Nintendo, mentioning Pavel Bure, Teemu Selanne and Brett Hull as some of his favorite players (although leaving out Jeremy Roenick, who I believe at the time was like the Bo Jackson of NHL video games thanks to his breakaway deke).

The Golden Brett's stint as "the American Don Cherry" may be over after just one season.

Per the Vancouver Sun, "Ray Ferraro, who should know, tells Team 1040 that Brett Hull's short-lived career as a hockey analyst with NBC is over."

Throughout the season, Hull's interactions with studio host Bill Clement were often painfully awkward to watch, his "abysmal and patently one-sided" analysis during the Western Conference Finals was awful, and his cringe-worthy (to NBC execs, at least) performance during a national telecast of the Stanley Cup Finals (in which he tried to out-Cherry Cherry by bashing his corporate masters and the game itself -- see the clip below) was likely the straw that broke the camel's back.

Of course many of Hull's thoughts were spot on (placing stricter limits on the plastic body armor players are wearing these days, for example), and an outspoken anti-establishment figure is usually "good television" at the very least. But there's a difference between adding to the show and trying to make oneself the show. Hull isn't insightful or likable enough to be the latter (brilliant idea, Brett, to ban visors), and showed no desire to be the former. At the end of the day, NBC and the League are probably better off without him.

Besides, now they've left the door wide open for Jeremy Roenick to be the next "American Don Cherry."