By Andrew Chong, Editor with Danny Beck, Resident Ranter /
It’s a beautiful time of year to be a sports fan: NFL, CFL, NBA, MLB playoffs. Not to mention, it’s Brock-tober in the UFC (referring to the title defence of monstrous heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar).
And speaking of muscular, high-profile loud-mouths, Hockey Now’s Danny Beck has joined me to give a random run-down on Canada’s favourite acronym (no, not HST): the NHL.
DB: Rypien’s ‘fan interaction’ is understandable
Everybody jumps all over this as if they are sinless in their daily lives. Most of us, if faced with some loser wearing an oversized team outfit yelling obscenities, would lash out, too.
True pro athletes need to control their emotion and behaviour, but this was human nature and teams shouldn’t have open railings between fans and players, anyways. Separate them and this never happens, full stop.
AC: Hall vs. Tavares debate begins
A TSN report on Taylor Hall revealed that several NHL scouts would have taken Hall over John Tavares in the 2009 Draft, if Hall were age-eligible at the time.
As I sit here on deadline, writing and watching highlights, I am seeing John Tavares score an O.T. winner while Taylor Hall still has zero goals.
Too early to compare?
Well, yes.
But one thing is for sure in these early stages of both careers: Hall and Tavares will face very tough comparisons to other recent first overall picks like Crosby, Kane, Ovechkin who quickly turned their franchises into winners.
Until Hall and Tavares get able supporting casts like the rosters that were built in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington, it won’t matter how well they play.
DB: Two points means the same in Oct. and March
I know it’s early, but look at the NHL standings and seven of last year’s 16 playoff teams are out of the playoffs, right now.
This shouldn’t be ignored by playoff hopeful teams and fans because every year, come late March, teams are scratching for OTL points just for a shot at Stanley, because all they have to do is look at “easy points” lost in October—they really do matter.
AC: Kessel deal looks better than ever
When the Leafs gave up two first round picks (one being Tyler Seguin) for Phil Kessel, many people balked at the drastic price paid for No. 81.
But with five goals through five games (including 21 shots, two game-winners, and a plus-two rating), Kessel is making this deal look better and better.
And if the Leafs can somehow finish in the middle of the pack, it means the 2011 pick they gave up to Boston could potentially be much less valuable.
A mid-first round pick is never a sure thing.
So if that player turns out to be average or worse, the trade then boils down to Kessel for Seguin.
Sounds fair to me.
DB: Headshot calls in dire need of consistency
I am not sure about some of this headshot stuff.
Yes, safety should be paramount, but both the “grey area” nature of this and the inconsistency of referee calls and Colin Campbell’s rulings are truly mind-boggling.
I mean, sheesh, Tom Gilbert gets $2,500 for his hit on Stajan and Doan gets three games for Sexton hit? Foligno gets a fine for Dwyer hit – what was the difference between all three?
Not much.
The NHL better put some truly firm guidelines in – why didn’t they do that in the summer?
Oh yeah, it’s the anti-proactive NHL.
AC: In defence of Thornton’s ‘pay cut’
Some are mocking the fact that Joe Thornton’s pay cut from $7.2 million to $7 million is being heralded as a team-first / Cup-first decision. The popular argument is, how can anyone making so much money consider themselves sacrificial?
Even though praising this “pay cut” probably sounds ludicrous to the average hard-working person, my argument in defence of Thornton would be that almost everyone is faced with this tension of trying to balance money vs. job satisfaction—and Thornton did what he could do try and balance it.
Success and satisfaction within the game of hockey usually means team success and winning Stanley Cups. And hockey players make lots of money.
Those are the facts.
So no matter how small the percentage, Thornton took less money than he could have made, elsewhere and presumably, he did it to help himself and the team get to a Cup.
He’s not going to play for free but it’s something.
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Random Ramblings From Around The NHL
