Chiefs Looking For Ways To Get Turned Around Lethbridge At Spokane
Spokane Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz has yet to hang a Fire Sale sign on his Western Hockey League club, but he made this much clear Monday.
Nobody is untouchable.
Less than a month before the WHL trade deadline, Speltz and coach Mike Babcock are staring at equaling a franchise low.
The Chiefs finished last for the first and only time 10 years ago, when they were a distant sixth in a six-team division. Other than that, even through rocky financial times, they’ve been competitive - no more so than when they won 50 regularseason games three years ago.
As they head into Wednesday night’s date with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Arena seventh and last, the fingers of blame point to goaltender David Haun. It was Haun who kept the Chiefs in games earlier in the season, but he and backup Mike Lencucha are clearly struggling.
But soft goals are only part of the problem.
“Just about everything that could go wrong in the first half went wrong,” Babcock said Monday.
The club was just starting to shape up prior to the Christmas break, with veteran Cam Severson back on his game, when Severson re-injured the ankle that has bothered him all year during a game in Prince George.
Too fragile to withstand the loss of veteran talent, the Chiefs have regressed. The aggressive forecheck so evident in four previous seasons under Babcock has all but dried up. Team speed is average, at best, and the Chiefs’ finish with the puck around the net is hit and miss.
Mostly miss.
The anticipated return of Brad Ference from the World Junior Tournament for Saturday night’s game here with Tri-City will help, but Ference’s days in junior hockey are numbered. At 19, he has a signed contract.
So typical of this season, Ference, at the World Junior Tournament on Monday, had a wonderful couple of hours spoiled by a few bad seconds.
He had a pretty assist on Team Canada’s crucial first goal in a pivotal game with Sweden. As the game in Winnipeg wound down with the Canadians comfortably ahead, Ference made what was reported to be a clean hit. Unfortunately, it sent an off-balance Swedish player crashing into the dasher head first.
The Swedish player, out cold, was removed from the ice on a stretcher. Ference was whistled for a checking-frombehind major and ejected.
Good intentions, bad timing. Neither Ference nor the Chiefs can catch a break.
Barring a sudden surge in a string of games on the road starting next week - unlikely without a hot goaltender - the Chiefs are on target to hit the Feb. 1 trade deadline in the basement. That would leave them with 23 regular-season games - 11 at home - after the deadline to dig their way out and make it into the playoffs, where sixth-place teams have been known to unseat top seeds.
It still leaves the brain trust with two basic options at the approaching trade deadline. Continue to be patient in the hope the injured will heal, the team will gel and the meek will inherit playoff momentum. Or cut the best deals they can with an eye on next year and beyond.
Ference’s absence at the World Juniors was a factor in Spokane’s four poor games since Christmas. He will be a welcomed presence. Just the same, you might want to enjoy the better moments of his play while you can.
That’s because one fit that seems to make a lot of sense is a Ference-to-Calgary deal. Calgary is Ference’s hometown. The Calgary Hitmen have a shot to go all the way. Most contenders would readily create space for a 19-year-old with Ference’s versatility.
With Ference headed for professional hockey next year, the Chiefs could afford to deal him to a team in the West. He won’t be back to haunt them. That widens the market.
Look for the Chiefs to drive a harder bargain for their ace than they did in ‘95, when they waited almost to the last minute before dispatching future NHL standout Bryan McCabe to Brandon for Adam Magarrell and other considerations.
Notes
The Regina Pats added former Chiefs backup goalie Shaun Fleming to their 50-player protected list last week. Fleming started the season in Spokane, was sent to Kindersley, Saskatchewan, and was dropped from the Chiefs’ 50-man protected list early last month. … Former Chief Joe Cardarelli, at last glance, was bouncing back and forth with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International League and the East Coast League Chesapeake Icebreakers. His long-time buddy from Burnaby, British Columbia, and teammate for four seasons in Spokane, John Cirjak, hasn’t fared as well in his brief pro stint. Cirjak has been suspended by the league for leaving the Icebreakers.
Defenseman Trever Shoaf, whose two-year run with the Chiefs ended in 1994, is in his third season at the University of British Columbia. … Former Chiefs D man Adam Magarrell is playing hockey and attending the University of Manitoba.
Around the WHL
The Moose Jaw Warriors didn’t cool off after they left Spokane on Saturday night. Cory Hinz had two goals in a 5-2 Sunday night win at Tri-City. The Warriors, who scored 25 goals in cutting a four-game swath through the West, have won a franchise-record seventh straight. … The Americans have lost veteran goal-scorer Ken McKay for up to a month to a broken hand suffered on New Year’s eve when McKay was slashed by Spokane’s Mason Wallin… . When the Lethbridge Hurricanes come into the Arena Wednesday night, Chiefs fans will get a look at one of the league’s promising rookie defensemen, Brandon James. His 26 points would put him only six behind the team scoring lead in Spokane - that from a 16-year-old D man.