“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:
- Bars and bartenders in Chicago are going to see a 95% slump in sales when the Blackhawks are forced to return the Cup to the NHL.
- When journalists from CBC have to ask NHL GM’s to shoot down Eklund’s rumors, the terrorists have won.
- My first reaction upon hearing about the Jaroslav Halak trade to St. Louis: “Wow, and people thought Carey Price had pressure last year. Just wait until next year!”
- The Dallas Stars might be onto something. They just extended qualifying offers to 9 of their restricted free agents—almost 2 weeks before the deadline. After all, you never know when you’re going to have fax machine problems. Right Mr. Tallon?
- There’s no question that the Red Wings have a fantastic organization—but I’m a little sick of hearing everyone talk about the fantastic loyalty that people have to their organization that makes them special. After Yzerman, Samuelsson, Hudler, Hossa, and Kopecky all chose to leave Detroit on their own free will, I’m not sure the loyalty is any different there.
- Speaking of Detroit, Ken Holland just signed a 5-year extension to remain as GM. My only question: Why wasn’t it a 25-year extension?
- Cam Neely getting his promotion from Vice President to Team President seems like it’s only as important as the fans make it out to be. They love him and any Neely news is good news. But can you imagine if this was Toronto and the guy getting the promotion was Wendel Clark? I’d pay to see some front office shinny between those two organizations…
- It wouldn’t be the offseason if the Ducks weren’t wondering about the Selanne and Niedermayer’s retirement plans.
- The first buyout news came out of Montreal as they bought out the final year of Georges Laraque contract. I’m using the word “news” liberally here—I think we all knew this was coming about 4 months ago.
- I always associate Patrick Marleau as being a guy that’s getting a little older. Just a refresher, he’s only 30 years old—that would be only one year older than the Sedin twins. As if I didn’t already want him enough as a free agent.
- I always thought Ron Artest had a screw loose, but after Game 7 of the NBA Finals, I think he has more than one screw loose. I’ll be honest—when I’m watching post game press conferences, I’d much rather watch the crazy of Ron Artest than the cliché answers of Sidney Crosby. Entertainment for the win.
- (Besides people that live in DC) Did you know that the Capitals drafted Alex Ovechkin, +/- leader Jeff Shultz, and forward defenseman Mike Green all in the 1st round of the 2004 Draft? If you’re looking for a turning point for the franchise, I’ll go with those 3 hours.
- I kind of hope that Jay Mohr acknowledges that he’s made fun of hockey for the last decade when he hosts the 2010 NHL Awards show. If he shows up and acts like he knows what he’s talking about, it could be as uncomfortable as Chaka Khan.
- I don’t think there’s a Kings fan alive that would have a huge problem with the Ducks trading Bobby Ryan to the Eastern Conference.
- It’s hard to put my finger on it, but everything about Dale Tallon, the things he says, and all of thing things he’s doing in Florida makes me take the entire organization a little more seriously.
- I’m not even close to being a believer in Edmonton’s playoff chances next year, but with Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, AND Taylor Hall/Taylor Seguin, the Oilers could have all 3 finalists for next years Calder Trophy! Just think, they’re still only 6 legitimate defensemen away from a playoff team.
- If Jeff Carter was truly available on the trade market, do you think Dean Lombardi would call Paul Holmgren before he physically flew to Philadelphia? You have to admit, he loves himself some ex-Flyers.
- Through his constant actions on Twitter regarding The Client, Allan Walsh has made it clear that he thought Jaroslav Halak was better than the opportunity the Habs were giving him. I wonder if that played any part in the fact that he was traded before they even talked about a potential contract for the restricted free agent.
- Let me get this straight: One of the biggest perceived problems about Dion Phaneuf in Calgary was his perceived “me-first” attitude. Does that sound like the kind of guy that you’d want to be your captain after a 2 month-long honeymoon period in the middle of a lost season?
- I have to admit—for someone who enjoys the draft, it’s nice to see news all over the place. Of course, I’m already prepared for when everyone ignores it for the other 50 weeks of the year.
- Gary Bettman is a pompous little person that needs to be fired for the good of the game.
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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.
