“I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” is a feature that will be posted every Saturday here at the View From My Seats. There are plenty of things going on in the hockey world (and even the sports world); and you know everyone has an opinion. This is a place for some quick hits of the week that was.
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I might just be a hockey fan in California, but:
- Somehow, I don’t think Euro-trash is a term that a professional analyst should use on the air. I’m emphasizing the word “professional.”
- For his shootout abilities alone, Slava Kozlov would be a great rental for a team at the deadline.
#Fail
- I don’t think that fans in Calgary and San Jose were enthusiastic with a couple of the goaltending performances in Vancouver.
- Am I the only one who thinks of EuroTrip when I hear that the capital of Slovakia is Bratislava?
- If this is how NBC treats hockey at the Olympics (and they are the ones who hold the broadcast rights for the NHL), just imagine how badly it could have been for a network that doesn’t have a vested interest!
- I was glad to see the Predators actually pay one of their goaltenders! It was only a 2-year extension, but at least they’ll finally keep one of the goaltenders they’ve had recently.
- I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a goaltender pull himself out of a game like Kipper did against Team USA.
- In a dose of reality following the Olympic break, Versus will be televising 5 games in the first week back. Related: DirecTV is on my List of Hate right now.
- It’s interesting how the entire Olympic experience was a microcosm of Jagr’s career. He played amazing and reminded everyone that he could be one of the best players in the world—and he got hurt and watched his team get eliminated sooner than he would have liked.
Apparently "Kipprusoff" can be loosely translated to "shame" in Finn.
- Brian Rafalski and Chris Drury have made a pretty good case for veterans making an Olympic team.
- Calgary has 741 wingers and no centers. And they wonder why they’ve been struggling this season.
- Do you know what I’m looking forward to the most after the Olympics? A game commentated by someone other than Doc Emrick.
- Damnit Ovie. I like watching you play. Stop acting like a douchebag.
- If Dan Boyle was a Russian and did that to a Canadian (or American), I wonder if the coverage of his slewfoot would have been covered differently. After all, it was just a man defending himself.
- Wild Prediction: I won’t see Mike Eruzione’s face for another 4 years.
- I’ve always felt bad when people bash Joe Thornton for his poor play in big games—but I don’t think a 6’3” 235 lbs man could be any more invisible if he tried.
- I kind of like that Jonathan Quick has had 2 full weeks to rest. Who needs a backup?
- Happiest man for Slovakia getting further than they ever have at the Olympics? Agent Alan Walsh.
- The Canadians’ performance in the 1st period against Russia might be the single best period of hockey I’ve ever seen a team play. Then again, maybe the Americans’ 1st period against Finland was just as good. Nobody was beating either one of those teams on those particular nights. No one.
- For the 4th Olympics in a row, the defending Gold Medalist lost in the quarterfinals. If that doesn’t tell you that this tournament is a crap shoot, I don’t know what will.
- Gary Bettman is a pompous little person that needs to be fired for the good of the game.
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So what are your thoughts from the NHL week that was?
Click here for our archive of past editions of our “I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” feature.
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
