This week, The Post’s Andrew Marchand spoke with Bill Clement, ABC/ESPN’s lead NHL analyst. The 52-year-old Clement will work his 17th straight Stanley Cup Finals this year.
Q: Who do you think will be standing when the Stanley Cup Finals take place?
A: Before the season I picked Philadelphia and Dallas, but the Flyers seem to have so much trouble with the Devils and Ottawa that I’m not so sure it won’t be the New Jersey Devils and the Dallas Stars, a repeat of 2000.
Q: Why the Devils?
A: The East is reasonably wide-open, so that is a tougher pick for me. But the Devils’ goals-against is just astronomically tiny. They are just so good defensively.
Q: Where’s your guarantee on the Rangers and the playoffs – in or out?
A: I think they are going to make it. I look at who they have ahead of them. I said all along that they are going to make it, and I don’t see any reason right now to change.
Let me say this: If Glen Sather can’t get them into the playoffs – and with the Rangers, it is not about system, it is how hard they play – then everything has to be dismantled and they have to start from scratch. I think they will squeak into the playoffs.
Q: Would you think Sather would return if they don’t make the playoffs?
A: That’s a tough question. It depends on how strong his relationship is with [ownership]. It’s really tough. Obviously, there has to be accountability at all levels.
Q: What is your take on where hockey is as a television sport and where it is going?
A: The style of play over the last five years has been so suffocating that scoring totals for individuals has gone down and down. There hasn’t been much glamour in the last five years. With the rule changes this year, it is starting to open up, and as a result the entertainment value is increasing.
But the biggest thing we are hoping [for] is high def TV (HDTV). Hockey is a difficult sport to follow on TV unless you really understand it, because you can’t see the puck. With high def TV, it will give people a whole different perspective of what is going on during the game.