jpberthiaume's posterous

Regehr plays hard and you can make an argument he would have been a much needed physical force in his own end, but he has built a reputation as someone who doesn't always take orders well, especially from a coach like, umm, Mike Keenan, and that surely hurt his prospects. Keenan can get under anyone's skin and Regehr defenders can argue with merit that his problems with Iron Mike were pretty much a one-off, but it was a given that Babcock wanted players who would check their egos at the door and do anything and everything they were told to do anywhere on the 200 feet of ice. Add that to the offensive upside most of the other Magnificent Seven can bring and the truth is out there. He's good, but not good enough, especially in the way Babcock established his "team first and always" approach.

There is a sort of code of ethics in the NHL that the other major sports don't seem to live by. Or, at least it's a bit more stringent when it comes to hockey. Regehr threw Mike Keenan under the bus last year and the fraternity of hockey coaches don't forget that kind of stuff. Maybe because they know what it's like to be in charge, or maybe they fear that it could be them some day. Nonetheless, you can almost be sure that it is the reason why Regehr isn't on the Maple Leaf squad heading into February's Olympic Games.