“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:
- After seeing the end of the Miss Universe pageant, I’ve decided we should start calling the Edmonton Oilers the 29th runner-up.
- You know the idea that certain players play better during their contract year? To Steve Downie, that meant, “Don’t get suspended.”
- Dodgers’ announcer Vin Scully announced that he’ll be returning for his 62nd year behind the mic next season. Just a little perspective: Chris Chelios was only in his mid-30’s.
- The part of the whole Olympics participation debate that bothers me is very simple. Am I the only one who thinks Gary Bettman couldn’t care less about the health of the game and is stubbornly unbending, solely so he can use it as a bargaining chip with the Players Association?
- Quietly, the Canucks have really helped their forward depth this off-season. Raffi Torres AND Manny Malhotra on the 3rd line? That should work.
- People are assuming that there’s going to be a work stoppage now that Donald Fehr looks to be the new NHLPA head. Just keep this in mind if there’s a work stoppage: Last time, the NHL got every single thing they wanted, yet are complaining again that the system isn’t working. You know, the system THEY created.
- I saw Ed Hochuli reffing a pre-season game. It really looks like he needs to lift some weights to round into regular season form. Was Kerry Frazier’s hair ever out of shape?
- Whether you’re a baseball fan, Nationals fan, or even just a sports fan—sad news to hear that Steven Strasburg has to undergo Tommy John surgery. That would have been like Sidney Crosby blowing out his knee two months into his hype-filled rookie year. Say what you want about the hype, but we all lose when a phenom goes down.
- Wouldn’t it be nice if good writers had access and bad writers didn’t? Wouldn’t it be nice if that was all there was to it? People say that I’m a dreamer; but I’m not the only one.
What's worse? Blowing saves or blowing a .12 BAC?
- I’m amazed at how little coverage the Nikolai Khabibulin DUI case is getting. If that trial was in Toronto, there would be people giving us updates every 10 minutes!
- I’ve heard that one of the best sellers for NHL merchandise is Hartford Whalers gear. Maybe if more people cared about them when they were playing, all of that stuff wouldn’t be vintage.
- Sticking with the hockey gear talk, do you have any idea how hard it is to get a decent OHL or WHL hat in the United States? I suppose the real question here is, “Why are you trying to get an OHL or WHL hat in the United States?”
- There was discussion at the World Hockey Summit about how expensive it is to play hockey. Like we needed a freaking summit or an NHL GM to tell us that. Thankfully, no one had to tell us to look to the east to watch for the sun to rise.
- Reminder that it’s the offseason: Ice Edge Holdings announced that there will be an ECHL team in Thunder Bay. And people cared.
- It looks like Bill Guerin is going to need to find a new city if he wants to continue his playing career. Veteran leadership, proven winner, can play tough, and can chip in some goals—he’d be perfect for a 1-year deal with any young team looking to take the next step.
- Here’s something I’ve learned over the last few years. Teams that are DEPENDING on their young prospects to perform are in a very precarious position. It’s one thing to have a spot on the team for them, but it’s quite another to need them to produce for the team to be successful.
- This week we heard reports that Scott Hartnell and Sheldon Souray were almost swapped last season. In fact, it was so close that Hartnell even waived his no-trade clause so he could go home and play in Alberta. So what was the problem? Apparently Oilers GM Steve Tambellini pulled the plug. For his efforts, he still needs to get rid of Souray and could still use a power forward.
- I absolutely love that more and more teams are broadcasting all 82 games in HD. Screw new rules—HD is the best thing to get people to get into hockey. (You know, except for that whole “in person” thing)
- You want to know the worst thing killing the World Hockey Summit’s credibility? Pictures like this.
- Watching the outpouring of well-wishes from Canucks fans as Mitchell left Vancouver showed me more than any statistic. When a player leaves and fans are almost unanimous in their support for him, you know someone’s getting a good player.
- 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
Matt Reitz is an NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports and the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com. 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.
