January 29, 2009

A valient effort towards the end as Atlanta almost made a great comeback from a 4-0 deficit. But alas, they fall 5-4 to the Islanders. Mathieu returned to the scoresheet, and finished a -1 in 19:16 of ice time. Game summary: Bogosian (Schneider, Peverley), :26 of 2nd.

Top available players

Here is yet more "Mathieu is available and valuable" talk.

From T.O Sports Magazine's "Top 12 Players That Will Be Available Come Trade Deadline"

9. Mathieu Schneider - Atlanta Thrashers

Schneider is almost 40 and is not as fast as he used to be, but he still can still run a power play and pass the puck with the best of them. Although he may not be cheap, he will get any struggling power play going. Expect Pittsburgh, Columbus, the Rangers, and even Montreal if they can’t get a hold of Tomas Kaberle.

Honorable Mention

jamestobrien over at Cycle Like the Sedins came up with his "All-Decade Team" for NHL defenseman. Mathieu garnered an "honorable mention." Not bad considering the competition.

January 27, 2009

Well, that was anticlimactic. My guys meet and neither really does anything. Actually, that's not totally true. Both made solid plays throughout and looked pretty darn good for their respective teams, but not much to show on the scoresheet. Mathieu was rather defensive this game, with 4 blocked shots and an even plus/minus, but not a single shot on goal, in 21:16 of total ice time.

Atlanta Thrashers at Dallas Stars

Why do I mention this otherwise unremarkable game?

My guys face off tonight! With Mathieu in the Western Conference since 2000 and with Brad Richards in the Eastern Conference until last year, my guys rarely met. Three previous times in the regular season to be exact. Mathieu has the advantage, with 2 wins and 1 tie.* But B-Rad has 4 wins to Mathieu's 3 in the playoffs last year.


*3/8/2004: Tampa Bay @ Detroit, 1-1
12/17/2005: Detroit @ Tampa Bay, 6-3
3/19/2008: Dallas @ Anaheim, 1-2

(And no, I did not know that off the top of my head. When things got quiet on the Reference Desk last night, I looked it up. Since I was looking it up anyway, I thought I'd jot down the details. You never know when "Schneider-Richards Meetings" will be a category on Jeopardy! or something. I'll readily admit I know nothing about "Opera" or "Famous Chemists,"** but it would be embarrassing if I missed any in a "Schneider-Richards Meetings" category.)

**Enrico Fermi... that's always my answer

More "Mathieu will be moved" talk

A million stories have come out, and each one is slightly different. And we all know that we know nothing until it happens. But, it being my responsibility here at the Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Home Page to keep abreast of all developments, here is another take on his future, this time from Scott Burnside at ESPN:

Hard to imagine the 39-year-old Schneider won't be headed somewhere with the Thrashers a million miles from the postseason. Could he help the Ranges' power play? Sure. And if the Blue Jackets remain in the playoff hunt, he might help out Ken Hitchcock's crew in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets boast the NHL's worst power play.

A wise man name Enrico Ciccone once said "the day I'm not mentioned in trade rumors is the day I retire" (that's more or less a direct quote; I'm doing it from memory on the fly). He meant that when people stopped talking trade they stopped talking about wanting him. With Mathieu's lousy season (especially after the previous post), I'd take these persistent trade talks as a form of flattery.

Mid-season reports

Tons of midseason "report cards" are out, and needless to say, Mathieu's reviews are not good. Here are a few I ran across today.

Total Pro Sports had their "2008-09 NHL First Half Fantasy Duds," picking those players who are causing fantasy league players everywhere fits:

Mathieu Schneider - Atlanta Thrashers: After some very successful post-lockout seaons in Detroit and Anaheim, Schneider's been having a hard time adjusting to playing in Atlanta. So far Mathieu has 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 35 games. He also only has 3 power play points, a part of the game in which Schneider has excelled throughout his career.

And from Former Islanders Watch:

Biggest Disappointment: Mathieu Schneider (ATL) Thrashers' d-man Schneider has been a huge bust this season. Due to nagging injuries Schneids has suited up for only 35 of Atlanta's 48 games and has managed a meager 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points. His -10 is slightly improved from early season numbers but for a player on the verge of career assist #500 he is struggling. Now, we must credit some of this to the players around him, but Schneider is not off the hook for the downturn in his play. Schneider is in danger of not scoring 30+ for the first time in 11 seasons and that is the most disappointing part.

January 21, 2009

And back to Earth they come. Atlanta put up a fight late, but still lost to the Flyers as they head into the All Star Game break. Mathieu was kept off the scoresheet again; he played 18:47 and ended a +2.

Mean, but I chuckled.

In Greg Wyshynski's "Puck Headlines" for the day at Puck Daddy, he points out a PuckStopsHere blog entry over at Kuklas Korner that talks about the worst player in the league this season. The comment that made me chuckle?

"Brendan Witt of the New York Islanders has been crowned the worst player in the NHL this season. And Mathieu Schneider breathes a sigh of relief."

When I first saw the headline "Worst Player This Season" over at Kuklas Korner yesterday, I hesitated clicking out of fear I'd see Mathieu's name. Interesting I'm not the only one who had that thought.

January 20, 2009

Atlanta is on a roll. They beat Montreal tonight, 4-2. Mathieu was pointless and a +1 in 21:00 of ice-time.

Interesting side note: the game featured the last two remain active players from the 1993 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens: Mathieu and Patrice Brisebois. They may have mentioned that in the broadcast, but the feed at NHL GameCenter for this game was in French and I didn't really understand anything they said. =)

Off-topic: good personal showing, unfortunate team result

Well, Brad Richards' team didn't get the win in his return to Tampa Bay, but he sure did his part, having a hand in both of Dallas' scores. The first one was the one that's getting talked about, and the one that actually made me leap out of my chair in disbelief. B-rad's "brother from another mother," Vincent Lecavalier, scored the first goal of the game; on the next play, 20 seconds later, B-Rad ties it with a goal of his own. Vinny had to go and ruin everything by later scoring the game winner for Tampa. Gee, thanks Vinny! =P

The Lightning put together a video tribute and showed it on the JumboTron. It was set to the song "Momma I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne, which is just cruel. I mean, something about that song is sad even without the meaning the lyrics have in this situation.* He was thoroughly applauded by the Tampa crowd, and was gracious about the attention. Though he did seem a little chocked up for a second during the 2nd intermission interview. (But he was kind of breathless, having just coming off the ice... yea, that's it!)

Now, that first "homecoming" is over, so it's upward and onward from here.

*At least it wasn't Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors." That song makes me ball like an infant. Seriously. I tear up whenever I hear it. Yoooou... with the sad eyes...

Off-topic: B-Rad goes "home"

Mathieu has been traded so many times, his return to a former team barely warrants a mention. Maybe the play-by-play guys will throw in a "Schneider, a former -fill in the blank- " during the game, or a newspaper will get a quote from him about how great his time in -fill in the blank- was. But nothing compares to the storyline today of Brad Richards returning to play in Tampa Bay tonight. Why is this key?

• It is the only other team he's ever known
• He has often expressed his love for the area, and has said he will probably retire there (he still has his house there, and his parents live there during the worst of the winter months in PEI)
  
• He was long thought to be one of their core "lifers"
• There was that whole winning the Stanley Cup thing
• And that Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP after he scored 7 game winning goals for the Lightning on route to their championship
  

But of course the biggest story line, and the heart-string tugger is that he will, for the first time in his life, play against his best friend Vincent Lecavalier. They've been on the same team since they were 14 years old: in high school, in juniors, on various Team Canadas, with Ak-Bars Kazan in the Russian Elite League during the lock-out, and of course at Tampa Bay.


The media is all over this, so here are the links:

Stars' Richards Makes First Return to Tampa (Tampa Bay Online)
Dallas Stars' Brad Richards Returns to Face Tampa Bay Lightning for First Time (St. Petersburg Times)
It's Reunion Time when Dallas Stars Face Lightning (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Tampa Bay has Familiar Look to Dallas Stars (Dallas Morning News)

He said Sunday night might be a sleepless night, and "it's just going to have a different feel in my stomach before the game." I know the knot in even my stomach is different!

Buffalo?

Ok, as far as trade rumors go, we've heard Mathieu could be going to Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Montreal, and now Buffalo... so says the Toronto Sun.

January 17, 2008

Now THAT is more like it! Atlanta kicked Nashville all over the ice tonight, beating them 7-2. Mathieu had a goal. And here it is:



He was also a +4. Game summary: Schneider (Enstrom, Kovalchuk), 2:06 of 2nd.

January 16, 2009

Ok, it's a start in the right direction. Atlanta won tonight in overtime, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the first period to take the game 4-3. And Mathieu finally got on the board again. Game summary: Little (White, Schneider), 15:38 of 2nd; (interference), 6:10 of 2nd.

Top rental

Kevin Allen of USA Today has a much referred to and cited piece about the top "rental" players this year, or those with only a year left on their contracts, no real reason to stay on the team they are on, and of some value for a playoff bound team. Mathieu was considered one of those kinds of players before the season even started, and despite this horrific year, he still ranks up there. Says Allen,

3. Mathieu Schneider (Atlanta): Many teams are looking for a puck-moving defenseman, and Schneider still has a big shot and knows how to move the puck effectively. He hasn't played sharply this season, but teams will factor in that he's with a struggling team. He seems like a good fit for Montreal. The Thrashers, looking to beef up their prospect list, will be looking for a younger player.

When I first read the part about not playing sharply, I had "ya think?!?" moment. Or, as Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy more eloquently states: "Saying Schneider hasn't 'played sharply' is like saying Mickey Rourke has had an 'interesting life.'" Wyshynski goes on to mention Mathieu's terrible +/- (currently -17) and his anemic power play production (only 3 PP points), both of which have given me fits the last couple weeks. But I'll try to take some solice in Allen's comment that "teams will factor in that he's with a struggling team."

I've always said (as have tons of others), that +/- is not always a fair stat. It is very much more a reflection of the overall team. Good teams have players with higher +/- numbers; bad teams have players with low +/- numbers. (Even Mathieu said as much when he set his huge streak of most consecutive games with a plus last year) Also, his power play minutes have plummeted in Atlanta, so that surely has something to do with the drop in PP production.

Hopefully something gives, and gives soon, because this is not fun. At least my Sharks are doing well.

January 14, 2008

Ooof. The game winner for Ottawa came after a Mathieu turn over. He also had a penalty called on him that lead to a power play goal against. Game summary: (holding), 17:52 of 1st.

I'm actually not even sure what to say.

Back at practice

Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Mathieu was back on the ice for practice. That's either good news or bad news for Atlanta. After last game, I just don't know anymore. But, I still have faith that he can turn this season around. Maybe that Florida game was the proverbial rock bottom. We can hope, right?

Not at practice

Mathieu missed practice today with what is described as a minor injury. He was available to comment on the Thrashers finally naming a captain: Ilya Kovalchuck.

"There is only one choice in that locker room and it is Kovy. He's ready for the challenge."

Other than that, trade rumors continue to swirl. One thing is obvious, Atlanta is just not working. The team isn't working for him, and he's not working for the team. It's just painful to watch. I've never seen such play from him in 15 years.

January 10, 2009

Brutal. Unbearable. Insufferable. Agonizing. Excruciating. Torturous. 8-4. No points. Two penalties. Minus 3. Inexcusable. Game summary: (roughing), 12:09 of 2nd; (hooking), 14:31 of 2nd.

More Mathieu Schneider is old

As learned about via Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there are only two players from the 1987 draft still playing in the NHL today: Joe Sakic and Mathieu Schneider.

More of what the Thrashers need

More nuggets o' wisdom from Mathieu about what ails the Thrashers:

"We have to talk more out there. This is one of the quietest groups I've ever played with. It's tough when you get the puck down low and you don't know if a guy's coming in on you or where your support is." (from Scott Cullen at TSN.ca)

Unintentional comedy over at MSG Network

"Hockey Maven" and all-round hockey dude Stan Fischler caught up with Mathieu yesterday for a quick chat during the New Jersey Devils pregame show on the MSG Network. As Mathieu is so involved with the NHLPA, Fischler asked for his thoughts about the current debate as to whether the NHL should begin scheduling games on Christmas (which has traditionally been part of a two day break). As reported by Costa Tsiokos:

Schneider replied (with a huge grin on his face), "Well, I’m Jewish. So you’re asking the wrong guy."

"Actually," he continued, still smirking, "I’ve been pushing for the NHL to take Hannukah off. So that’ll be a nice eight-night break from playing games!"

I'd make a joke about how someone didn't read this blog in December, but seriously, Stan Fischler knows Mathieu well from his days as an Islander and as a Ranger, and I'm sure he knows he's Jewish. Actually, I know that Fischler should know. After all, he wrote More Bad Boys, in which there is a chapter about Mathieu called "Hockey's Star of David." I know this for a fact. I have the book. I picked it up in a bookstore in Vancouver because there was a chapter about Enrico Ciccone; not until I got it home did I realize Mathieu was in it, too. I mean, I didn't exactly pick up a book by that title and look in the Table of Contents or index for "Schneider, Mathieu." I'm still trying to figure out why he made the cut, but hey, he can throw a mean elbow.

EDIT: When this was originally posted, I had the wrong book listed. When I got home (don't tell my boss I posted this at work) and looked at the book on my shelf, I noticed my error. I've corrected it. So there. =P

Catching Dale Hunter

Totally random, but I spent all day buying Math related books as part of my day job, so I have Math on the mind.

Jasper's Rink had a feature about Dale Hunter, the only player to have 1,000 points and 3,000 PIM in his NHL career. He may very well be the only one to reach such milestones ever. J.P. did some number crunching, and determined how many seasons other players would need to play (assuming points and PIMs per game remains constant) to catch up.

So, I did that for Mathieu. How long would Mathieu need to play in order to reach the Dale Hunter club? Almost 23 more seasons! At career pace, he would reach 1,000 points in 500 more games (or about 6 seasons). For penalty minutes, though, he'd need 1,856 games (or about 22.6 seasons) to reach 3,000. I'm not sure Mathieu plans to play until he's 62, so it is safe to say he'll never reach the Dale Hunter club.


Side note: Even more impressive, it would take Brad Richards 46 more seasons to reach 3,000 PIMs. He could reach 1,000 points in 6 more years, but with only 137 PIMS in his first 602 NHL games, the former Lady Byng winner has his work cut out for him to catch up to Dale... unless he wants to play until he's 74 years old. And come on, Brad. Four PIMS this season, and your whole 36 game PIM-less streak prior to those four just isn't going to help =)

January 8, 2008

The Thrashers kicked butt tonight, shutting out the New Jersey Devils 4-0. Mathieu played just under 20 minutes, but was kept off the score sheet again. He's gone 8 straight games without a point, the longest pointless streak since he was kept scoreless for the first 15 games of the 1999-2000 season.

Parlez-Vous Français?

The Mathieu to Montreal rumor gets some French infusion today with an article posted by Richard Labbé at cyberpress.ca today.

ROUGH BABELFISH TRANSLATION:

You see, the Canadian still needs a defender. Everyone knows that, and everyone, that includes Mr Bob. It is undoubtedly why the rumours of the return of Mathieu Schneider in Montreal do not want to die. It appears that the veteran defender would have meant his intention to move, and Thrashers of Atlanta, which are excluded from the eliminating heats since October approximately, extremely probably will try to exchange it soon.

A 39 year old defender, who touches wages of 5,7 million this season, can really help the Canadian? I imagine that will depend on the price to pay. Bob Gainey will not give a promising young talent to Thrashers in return of a guy who does not have any more as a good a long time. But if the price to be paid is not too high, why not?

I'll try not to get too excited, because, after all, Mathieu always says its the trades you don't hear about that happen.

LATE EDIT: Some more blog talk: Your Habs. And the Voice of Valeri that boldly said yesterday the deal was done just not announced has backed off a little, this time simply saying that the Canadiens "are apparently the frontrunners for his services."

Rumor du jour

This just popped up on my Google blog alert: a deal that sends Mathieu to the Montreal Canadiens is done, but not yet official. That's random. It's also from a blog (Voice of Valeri) that reports that Ottawa has just fired their coach (and Ottawa's owner just officially announced that no such action has taken place).

That would be interesting, though.

LATE EDIT: Ok, what's up with this? In the "TSN Quiz," the panel was asked "Will the Montreal Canadiens make a major move before the trade deadline?," and John Tortorella's answer is "Yes, a puck-moving defenceman. You can never have enough Mathieu Schneider -type players."

Then, Robert Lang scores a hat-trick in the Habs' win over the Rangers, and the headline is "Trick of the Trade." Seeing the Habs and the word "trade" in large letters made me double take. Does TSN know something? Should I really pay attention to this rumor?

Some quotes on bad play and trades

Here are some Mathieu quotes for the day:

On what's going wrong with the Thrashers

“We need to play a better team game. Sometimes individuals try to do too much, and then you end up doing less. That’s a pattern you see when you struggle.”

On the ever present trade rumors:

“Obviously, there’s a chance I could be moved at the deadline, but that’s something I really don’t think about. You have to live in the moment. If you start thinking about those things, it affects your performance on the ice.”

Quotes from Atlanta Journal-Constitution

January 6, 2008

Something had to give when two teams struggling as badly as Atlanta and Pittsburgh met. When all was said and done, at least Pittsburgh ended their losing streak. Ugh. Just ugh. Mathieu played just under 20 minutes, and had one shot on goal. He did see some more power play time. He is pointless in the last 7 games. Bummer.

Trade rumors, again

This time it's The Hockey News jumping on board with the idea that Mathieu will be moved again before the trade deadline with this bold statement from Lyle Richardson:

"Don’t expect him to finish the season as a Thrasher."

Ottawa seems to be the team mentioned the most recently as a possible destination.

January 4, 2008, or does anyone care?

Atlanta had another rough lose, after which head coach John Anderson stated, "Our give-a-crap level was like at zero. After we have a big win [Friday] against Vancouver, against a real good hockey team, we throw that game [against Tampa Bay]. I’ve got to question whether anybody cares in that locker room. That’s a joke.” Ouch. But at least someone said it. Game summary: (hooking), 1:54 of 1st; (hooking), 10:21 of 3rd.

But... being that it was a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I get an excuse to post one of my favorite pictures of Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis:

THN on Niedermayer

While being social (see last post), I also snagged my friend's older copies of The Hockey News and have been slowly picking through those. Anyway, the November 3, 2008 issue had an interesting article about Scott Niedermayer. I was always a big Niedermayer fan. He was one of my favorite defensemen and I still say he'll go down as one of the best. But his stock fell in my eyes dramatically last year. Sure, I recognized that I would be biased because his shenanigans affected Mathieu, but I really didn't understand why he wasn't called out more. Did anyone else see the damage (on his rep, on his team, and on the NHL) his stunt caused? Or was I just being overly sensitive because it affected "my" player. Until this point, I was convinced of the latter, as I never heard any other opinion expressed that backed up my indignation.

Well... Ken Campbell of The Hockey News finally said it in his article "Ducks Stuck Thanks to Scotty" (or as the cover of the issue teases: "Lame Ducks? Blame Niedermayer.")

The article is pretty scathing, citing not only the fact that he just plain and simple didn't honor a contract he signed with a team in good faith and that his actions caused an unmistakable distraction to the team, but that by his hedging the team was forced to paint itself into a corner. They wanted to remain competitive so they had to make moves, and those moves had a lasting, and damaging, affect on the Ducks, including losing key depth in Ilya Bryzgalov and Andy McDonald (and obviously Mathieu).

Campbell also throws out something that has bothered me, but I figured it was just because of my obvious allegiance:

"And what of Schneider, who signed with the Ducks in part because he wanted to be a contributor on a Stanley Cup contender? In return for his commitment, he has been exiled to Atlanta and, at the age of 39, is further from the Cup than he ever has been in his career."

He ends the article as such: "Nobody will say it, but the Ducks would have been better off if Niedermayer retired last season."

NOTE: In the November 24 issue, there was a letter rebutting the article, saying it was "extremely harsh" but later admitting she (I think, judging by the name) is biased because "Niedermayer is my favorite hockey player ever." Well, two biased opinions have been spoken, so that evens out. =)

THN's 100 People of Power and Influence

I've been lazy with the updates. I missed one game summary because I was actually out being social, and it just threw me off. But when I was out being social, I was checking out a friend's most recent issue of The Hockey News, and have a Mathieu sighting to report. The December 29th offering is the 10th Annual 100 People of Power and Influence issue. Who's number 52? Mathieu Schneider. Making his first appearance on this list, Mathieu earned a spot for his work with the various off-ice committees. Says the magazine:

"Schneider doesn't just sit in on the competition committee and take notes; he's an active participant. One suggestion he had for opening up the game was to forbid defensemen from skating backwards through the neutral zone. Schneider, 39, is also very vocal in his role as a member of the NHLPA's executive council."

Congratulations Mathieu. I won't make a mention of how Sean Avery actually made the list higher. Oops, I just did. But hey, something like 600+ other players didn't even make the list. So there!

January 1, 2009 (Happy New Year!)

Wow! Atlanta won! In a shoot out, but still. Mathieu was pointless, but got a good chunk of power play time. Ok, so maybe the power play isn't the answer to his scoring slump. I watched the game tonight, and he actually looked pretty good, making several smart defensive plays. Game summary: (tripping), 8:50 of 1st.

December 31, 2008

Another Atlanta lose to close out the year. Another night where Mathieu was kept off the scoresheet (and the power play).

December 30, 2008

Pointless again tonight in Atlanta's 4-3 lose in overtime. And again, Mathieu with minimal power play time. I'm starting to see one of the potential issues here. Besides the fact that Atlanta is really, really bad.