Times are tough in Montreal. It’s still cold out, the economic crisis is still hurting tourism, Celine Dion is still living in town, yet the only thing worse than her music is the play of the Canadiens/Habs. Celebrating thier centennial season the Habs were supposed to be one of the Eastern conference powerhouses this year after a strong end to the 07/08 year… late though they seem to be a Hab not team….. (clever, no?).
As of late Montreal have played as terrible as those Jerseys. In related news the Maple Laughs are still worse, while Ottawa is still nowhere to be seen in the standings.
To make things more interesting, their owner and Bell Centre landlord, Mr. Gillette, has called in accountants and money managers to check the books. Mr. Gillette purchased the sports franchise around 2002 or so, yet he has diversified into other sports… Nascar and Premier League Football, yes he is the proud owner of Liverpool FC, one of Britain’s top teams. For Montreal fans the fear is all this talk of potential the team will switch ownership again could derail the season further and result in the Habs missing the playoffs. As the most decorated team in NHL history, in the last six games since firing their coach the team has gone 1 – 5 and seem to be in a rut. Montreal is now the only Eastern Canadian team clinging to a playoff spot being challenged by Florida and Buffalo, while Divisional rival Boston (coached by former Hab coach Claude Julian) has clinched a playoff spot in the East.
For those in Montreal, if the Habs don’t succeed, remember, the Northwest Division can carry forth that Canadian team victory… and if Gillette does sell you can be sure it’ll be a close shave and for the best that man can get. In all honesty it seems his Nascar team is hooped.
Well as everyone was likely well aware, last day was St. Patrick’s Day and due to over-celebration a wee bit of a lapse in production and publication took place. The staff at Northern Canuckistan are sorry for the interruptions but for the quality assurance they were necessary. It was a busy day in sports and news so to round it off we’ll combine all in one post.
St. Patrick’s Day however is an important day for many Canadians as the Irish Potato Famine of the mid 1800’s forced many to leave the emerald isle in search of a better life in England, Australia, America and Canada. The majority would have settled in Toronto and Montreal, but many in later generations migrated West.
In regards to hockey, it was history being made as Martin Brodeur earned his 552 win for the New Jersey Devils claiming the number one spot as most victorious goal-tender in NHL history. The event came as the Devils edged the Blackhawks on home ice tuesday evening. Take that Patrick Roy! (Roy has said he’s happy for Brodeur, but if Roy were still in the league we wonder if he’d do his usual skate across the rink to lay a smack down for his record bust).
The MLS name and logo may not woo over all hockey fans, but at least Vancouver has a more diverse sports market.
Vancouver was awarded an expansion Major League Soccer team, meaning the good old Whitecaps have been promoted for the 2011 season. The clincher seems to have been that Vancouver, unlike the other prospective cities, already had plans to retrofit BC Place for soccer use. However many agree the Whitecaps should still pursue having their own 15,000 seat stadium built by the seabus and port in downtown Vancouver. The Whitecaps will be Canuckistan’s second soccer club in the MLS, with Toronto being the first… as usual Toronto is centre of the universe… whoop de do eh?
He accused Bush for War Crimes yet this man got arrested for disrupting the peace. Ironic no?
Former President George W. Bush visited Calgary on Tuesday. The sold out luncheon to an invite only crowd was his first public address since leaving office in January to Barack Obam-bam. Protesters outside claimed he should have been arrested in Canada for war crimes… in a turn of events those people were arrested for disrupting the peace. Irony… it can happen to anyone.
Oh glorious leader Putin protect Mother Russia!
Russia has declared it will once again begin to re-arm its military, which still uses many Soviet era weapons and machines. Glorious leader Putin (lets be honest eh… he is running the show) wants to reassert his/”Russian” authority over the former Soviet sphere of influence, but many think it is purely sabre rattling or he wants Alaska so Sarah Palin wont just see Russia from her house, but she’ll be new neighbour. In related news, the Ukraine is expected to apply for an American bailout (militarily) with Russia acting like a hungry bear in the back lawn. The plan was originally to approach the Germans but something about “Stalingrad” seemed to be a real sore point for negotiations.
So if Palin says she can see Russia from her house does that mean Putin can spy on her from the Kremlin?
On a more serious and somber note, the seventeen bodies of the Cougar helicopter crash off the coast of the rock, Newfoundland, were recovered and funerals have already begun. Over 1,300 turned out for a multi-faith prayer session in St. Johns today, including PM Harper; whose hair was looking as wigged out as ever. Not even the fresh Atlantic air will move it a fraction. The rest of the chopper was removed from the sea-floor today and will be subject to inquiry.
Mrs. Richardson passed away after suffering a head injury while learning to ski in Quebec
Also in the headlines Natasha Richardson, actress and wife of Liam Neeson, passed away at the age of 45 from injuries suffered whilst skiing in Quebec on a bunny hill. Reports thus far seem to indicate that after hitting her head it took a while before brain swelling was limited by the skull creating a pressure block or worse damage putting her into critical condition yesterday. She was treated in two Quebec hospitals before being flown to New York where family visited her bedside. The accident seems rather odd as many people crash while learning to ski and never end up so tragically. Other famous folks killed in skiing accidents were Sonny Bono and one of the Kennedy clan, Michael Kennedy, after hitting trees in 1998 . Their deaths were only days apart after accidents on different sides of the U.S.
Patrick Roy has sat comfortably atop his number one position for NHL goaltender wins for many years, even after his retirement in 2003. However the former Montreal Canadien and Colorado Avelanche goalie had his record tied by New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur at five hundred and fifty one wins the other night in a weekend game. It’s no small achievement either… Brodeur however seems poised to beat Roy’s record before seasons end as he tries to capture the shut-out record as well (which he is currently in second place behind Sawchuk).
While Roy was more… colourful shall we say… in his career with many great saves and terrible misjudgements (the liberty pose anyone?), Brodeur has long been the quiet competitor stealing games for the Devils and team Canada in the world tournaments and Olympics.
So while Martin Brodeur may not be Irish, let us wish him all the luck of the Irish on Tuesday so he can snag that one more game from the Chicago Blackhawks, keeping the Devils in contention for top place in the Eastern Conference against Boston.
Well it comes around annually but it seems to provoke more interest than a federal election for many Canadians. Yes, it’s the NHL’s trade deadline, which signals the arrival of playoffs and which teams feel they can make a run and which will cut losses and fire sale assets, aka players.
Most teams are limited to salary cap space but this year it seemed to be more interesting as to whom could go where and the vicious rumour mill that takes place… the National Enquirer couldn’t generate this kind of publicity about a Britney Spears story they made up.
So in summary most teams made a move this day, but most surprising were the ones that didn’t. For the Canadian clubs Vancouver and Montreal at this point in time seem to have decided no trades or acquisitions were necessary. Rumours of a trade with Florida for a top six defenceman were everywhere, but GM Mike Gillis was quick to dismiss any such claims, showing his confidence in his team despite having a large amount of money to woo players with for the stretch. Montreal was made offers but chose to retain assets and evaluate what they had in stock. The other Canadian teams were busier. Toronto cleared up plenty of room to acquire salary cap space and draft picks… GM Brian Burke hopes that the team can ditch the Maple Laughs remark, or buy a bunch of tough guys to smack the bejeezus out of anyone who exclaims such truths of the NHL’s most underachieving team. A title which used to be designated to the New York Rangers, who funnily enough were traded Nik Antripov for a second round draft pick… and Burke fumbles one at the starting line for rebuilding. Ottawa made a few moves as did Edmonton, who gave Erik Cole back to Carolina. The Calgary Flame(rs) have tried to assert their authority in the West by acquiring Ollie Jokinen from Phoenix. Many congratulated Sutter for the move but I bet Lombardi is just happy to be out of Calgary to a warmer climate in Arizona, plus we all know Keenan is a spaz and having Gretzky as a coach is probably better in the end… even though he must feel like a babysitter with all the youth on his team.
Bill Guerin is a real character... and not in a good way. Retire already.
The last bit of big news was that American player and well known cry-baby Bill Guerin, captain of the New York Islanders, was traded to Pittsburgh to play as a second or third linesman. Guerin, like other members of the “i is in team” of the 1996 USA hockey team, has sat out and refused to practice with the Islanders of late… lets hope his giant ego wont affect him playing for talented Canadian Sydney Crosby or Russian star Malkin. Oh and Billy, by the by, you wont be captain in the league ever again and if Pittsburgh doesn’t go all the way it could be your swan song…FYI. 🙂
All in all a very quiet day in the league relative to other years. Enough to let us linger on the deals that were and weren’t made so we can all harp on about them until July 1st when the free agency opens up. Though as a final side note, how much money did Rogers’ Sportsnet and CTV’s TSN spend for live coverage for 10 hours straight?!?! Last update was that CTV was joining the ranks of CanWest Global for revenue troubles. Possibly a budget review would be warrented for a clear disproportion of resource allocation… everyone likes trade day… but seriously folks.
Remember Canada, keep your stick on the ice and your beer well chilled eh?
Hockey in Canada has almost a religious following for some teams. Since its inception it has captivated hearts and minds and filled bars and livingrooms. Whether on the barstool or chesterfield/couch, beer in hand and a jersey for warmth until that playoff beard grows in we follow each respective home team. Hockey has had highs and lows, sparking debate to change the game from the smallest rules to how it will be played in future. However, the Cauckistan is dedicated to preserving one aspect of the game which has come under fire as of late. Fighting in the NHL is being scrutinized after the passing of twenty-one year old Don Sanderson of the Whitby Dunlops.
The anti-fighting camp and the defenders of hockey’s status quo have entrenched themselves with their ideologies on the matter, with the anti-fighting camp attacking through the media… any and all media. Well I may not play hockey but I am a follower of the league and have watched many of the games where these unfortunate incidents have occurred and can affirm that fighting and hockey shouldn’t be separated, for now at least.
While the anti-fighting camp rely on incidents as the Marty McSorely clubbing to the temple of Donald Brashear, Todd Bertuzzi punching Steve Moore from behind, a peewee brawl between eight-year olds and this latest case of Don Sanderson they have not come up with any solutions other than an outright banning of the age old on ice justice.
While not all players encourage fighting or participate in the on ice donnybrooks or bench clearing brawls of lore they all feel fighting has a purpose and a place in the NHL, old or new…even those whose careers ended because of fighting and concussions sustained. The champion of the old guard and player code is CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada mouthpiece Don Cherry. Cherry claims that all players know the code and the worst incidents that occur are because some either get too emotional forget it, or it’s an accident from a misunderstanding. A vague way of phrasing but hockey viewers would understand it.
Don Cherry, Champion of "The Code"
Essentially the game was changed, for better or worse depending on view point, in the 1970’s by the Philadelphia Flyers and using fighting as a form of physical intimidation to win. Their vicious play earned them the title of the Broad Street Bullies and resulted in two Stanley Cup championships. To curb this view as hockey being a violent game in the United States the league moved to curb fighting by creating various penalties over the years.
The fear of players is that if fighting is removed from the game that the “cheap-shot artists” will be given free range to harass and take advantage of the top players so that a career could end from a elbow or stick to the head. Hockey great Steve Yzerman calls on fighting remain in the game to remove “the rats” who play with intent to seriously injure without fearing any on ice retribution… because lets face it… the league hands out nothing in the means of suspensions and fines unless player like Sean Avery call Elisha Cuthbert sloppy seconds when she starts going out with the neanderthal Dion Phaneuf. Players who fight serve as a way to regulate the conduct of play and what is acceptable. Would Gretzky have played as long as he did if he didn’t have fighters to protect him from those out to injure him? Would M. Lemieux? What would happen if Crosby or Ovechkin or any young star was to suffer a career ending injury at the hands of a third-tier player who knew nothing would happen to them?
Now if the league were to consider changing the rules of the game, the Canuckistan would be curious to see how fights with helmets would work because the officials would have to intervene once the helmet popped off. But these tough guys have more of a chance of breaking their hands on a helmet or visor than breaking their nose or cracking their skull open… and they know that risk.
Northern Canuckistan feels that if fighting were to be regulated it should meet certain criteria. First, players must not remove helmets before the bout, but they are allowed to pop off. Second, players should not be allowed to perform a wrestling style take down if the other player is without helmet. Third, the refs should jump in if the fight is considered to be too dangerous to player safety. And fourth would be no two designated heavyweights should fight just for the sake of it… rather they should be forced to PLAY hockey and fight only if they feel they are called upon to protect a teammate or seek retribution, within a certain bounds, against an opposing player who severely injured a teammate.
Thus far the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, has publicly stated he has not entertained thoughts of removing fighting because he realizes it is part of the game… one of the few things he seems to have gotten right. However the General Managers of all the teams are meeting later this month and say they will address this issue, but let us hope for the future of the game they don’t do anything drastic. It’s unfortunate that Don Sanderson died because of a hockey fight (in a senior mens league which had stricter anti-fighting rules), and that others get injured from fights, but fighting is a part of the game and any hockey fan will agree, so why cater to the small percentage of non-fans who think hockey is too violent and use one off incidents to further their vendetta? If you want to watch a clean sport may I suggest tennis or figure skating?
A couple videos to show that, like it or not, fighting sells in the NHL.
Posted by T-Pear 
The Can-eh-dian Perspective 