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Merry Christmas, Mike Richards! Philadelphia's talented pivot is cashing in on his hot start, agreeing to a monster 12-year US$69-million contract extension with the Flyers. The Flyers, who have had more than their share of controversy this year, aren't wrong in announcing the signing of their classy future captain. He's a gritty two-way player with soft hands who should have a lengthy and successful career. For fantasy GMs, he's a dream come true, too. Richards as a Flyer for life makes all kinds of sense. For that matter, there have been several long-term signings that have kept some players exactly where they need to be, giving all concerned (player, ownership, fans) a sense of security. Certainly, there have been just as many contracts that aren't worth the paper they're printed on. However, we'll keep the following list of gold-seal contracts (minimum five years) positive, focusing on the Top 10 players poolies should tab as keepers. 1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh - Super Mario and the folks in the Pens' front office would have been out of their minds if they didn't extend Sid. So, they made sure he is at least in the fold until 2012-13. 2. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim - The Ducks' leading scorer (36 points) signed a five-year contract extension in November. Like Richards, he is a cornerstone signing. 3. Derek Roy, Buffalo - The Sabres were very smart in locking up Roy, also their leading scorer, to a long-term deal in July. Thomas Vanek's monster payout got a lot of ink, but Roy is the best candidate for future captaincy. 4. Jarome Iginla, Calgary - Iggy is worth every penny of the five-year US$35-million contract he signed with the Flames this summer. Put simply, Calgary had to sign him. 5. Brenden Morrow, Dallas - Morrow is in year one of a six-year contract extension he signed in September 2006. The Stars got a bargain (US$4.1 million per year) on a player they can use in all situations. 6. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit - Red Wings' brass looks positively psychic, having signed uber-talented Datsyuk to a seven-year pact back in April. He is second in scoring on the team with 36 points and is riding a nine-game point scoring streak (16 points). 7. Ales Hemsky, Edmonton - Kevin Lowe has done some dubious things as GM - like signing Dustin Penner to an ill-advised deal - but he got it right ensuring Hemsky will remain an Oiler through 2011-12. 8. Dustin Brown, Los Angeles - There may be more talented players in the Kings line-up, but none with more moxie than Brown. He will showcase his talents in La-La Land through the 2013-14 season. 9. Dany Heatley, Ottawa - The Sens' sniper is coming off back-to-back 50-goal seasons and is on track to bust that plateau again this year. His six-year contract extension guarantees Ottawa a scorer they can build around. 10. Jason Spezza, Ottawa - Spezza is the straw that often stirs Heatley's scoring drink. Getting his name on a seven-year deal was just as important. McCown's Law: The 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments A Hockey.com book review Toronto hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 40 years because the team has just been crap. So says Bob McCown. This is just one of the many emphatic statements by the ballsy radio personality in his book, McCown's Law: The 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments. The argument that the Leafs futility is not due to bad luck or bad karma complements 99 other well-crafted talking points by McCown and Globe and Mail journalist David Naylor. It is a compulsive read that attention-span-challenged hockey nuts will have no problem spending a few hours on. Having read it, I give these guys a lot of credit for their stance on many contentious issues. That is, they defend the indefensible — the contemptible Alan Eagleson. Skewer the un-skewerable — the supposed greatest leader ever, Mark Messier. And argue the unarguable — is Canada really the greatest hockey nation? McCown and Naylor offer up insightful George Carlin-esque (think Brain Droppings) passages that will have readers asking themselves the same question. Why didn't I think of it that way? This question may have been one of the driving forces behind McCown getting this book to print. That is, to get the average hockey fan to actually think before going off on a tirade about an issue that interests them or upsets them. McCown also had the good sense to be a team player and get an assist — a literary saucer pass — from the Globe and Mail's Naylor. The prose in this book flows and segues nicely, in contrast to McCown's sometimes staccato delivery on his radio show Prime Time Sports. With Naylor's hand guiding things, the arguments become pure shut-up-your-opinionated-pal gold. It's all done with great gusto, too. American-born McCown makes his living in the center of the hockey universe - Toronto. Yet he has the nerve to tell rabid Leafs fans their team sucks. This type of controversial position can only help fuel interest in this book in North America and around the globe. The co-authors effectively take raging debates out of hockey's hallowed hub and put careful reasoning and wit into them. And they go where others might fear to tread. Risking the NHL's wrath, they say parity is the worst thing that has happened to the league. They also call into question a host of other league rules and mandates. Like making visors mandatory, getting rid of the shootout, and promoting rivalries at playoff time and not the regular season. Gary Bettman's track record is even impaled — as it should be. Debunked are some long-held myths and half-truths, such as the belief that North Americans are better at playoff time. Skeptic that I am, I do have a couple of problems with this book and its celebrity author. Calling it the 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments, prefaced by McCown's Law, makes it sound like the opinions expressed are the only ones that matter. The other is McCown's hockey street cred. McCown has gone on record (TV, no less) as saying that if he had the chance to play on one all-time great team, it would be the Jim Brown-era Cleveland Browns. You'd expect a true hockey aficionado — who has written a hockey book in a hockey market — to say he'd want to play with Rocket Richard's Montreal Canadiens. The 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments is not the best book about hockey ever written. If you've ever read Home Team by Roy MacGregor, you'll agree. Rather, it's the hockey bathroom reader to end all hockey bathroom readers. McCown's Law: 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments Useful Christmas gifts for female hockey players are about as scarce as Wade Belak goals (Wait, that's leap years), but we at Hockey.com are nothing if not determined. After endless research, we've come up with the following can't-miss list for the "miss" on your list. 1. "Helmet hair" is a no-no when heading to the bar for a post-game beverage with the girls. The easy remedy - and a great stocking stuffer - is a hockey-specific cap from Rinky Hockey. The Leafs offer a pink version that celebrates 10 years of Hockey Fights Cancer. 2. And what separates the girls from the guys (besides great stick-handling and fewer bruises?) is attention to their off-ice appearance. So to complement that cap, how about a cool Remix Athletics T-shirt with female-specific slogans? There's some great
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Most pundits, fans and people associated with hockey usually take a point of view that is spun one way and force-fed to them. McCown and Naylor, on the other hand, take those arguments and turn them on their head.
The authors also float theories that fighting has everything to do with ugly on-ice incidents (Bertuzzi-Moore), and that recent Stanley Cup winning teams (New Jersey, Detroit, Dallas and Colorado) didn't buy their way to glory.
It should have been called 100 Great Hockey Arguments, period.
Just be careful giving it as a Christmas gift, you may never get on the throne again.
Buy now for $15.16!