“I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” is a feature that is 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:
- Something that should scare Coyotes fans more than relocation: right now, Jason LaBarbara is their #1 goaltender.
- I understand the white towels in Vancouver being in honor of Roger Neilson. But Canucks fans realize he was saying “I give up,” when he was waiving the white towel, right?
- When I heard the “Carter to Columbus” rumors, the first thing I thought was that the Flyers must be close to signing Bryzgalov. There’s no way they contemplated that deal without already having a plan for the cap space it would create.
- Have to give it up to Dennis Seidenberg in these playoffs. He’s looking like a possessed man in a contract year—when in fact he’s stepping up his game in the first year of a 4-year deal. I guess it’s not always about money.
- Reports out of Quebec City state that the Quebec legislature won’t vote on $400 million arena deal until sometime in the fall. Right. It’s the arena thing that is stopping Bettman from putting another team in Canada.
- Why is it that every single time I hear Kevin Cheveldayoff’s name, I think of former Red Wings’ netminder Tim Cheveldae? The only difference is the new Winnipeg GM has a name that sounds lazier.
- It was great to hear Grant Clitsome earned a two-year contract. Even better than the good news for a good guy, I loved the humility after signing. “”It’s been an amazing six months. At Christmas, I was still in the AHL. Now, to have a one-way deal, it’s pretty amazing. The motivation is different now. Now I have to prove I belong and deserve to stay there.” It’s such a good quote that I’ll save the name jokes for Mr. Cheveldayoff.
- Remember Alex Burrows’ OT winner in Game 2 when there were fans saying Tim Thomas needed to change the way he played because he was too aggressive? There’s a very good reason why these people aren’t coaches. Better yet, there’s a reason why they aren’t NHL goaltenders.
- When Trevor Gretzky is sitting at the dinner table with his parents, does he console his dad for never being drafted by a Major League Baseball team? Since Trevor was drafted by the Cubs, that’s something he can share with his Dad. Neither one of them were drafted by real MLB teams.
- If I had a product to sell in Vancouver, I would have sponsored the “Keith Ballard buyout” page over on Capgeek.com. You know that page is getting a hefty amount of traffic lately.
- Before the NHL signs another advertising deal with Progressive Insurance, there should be someone in the league office that approves the commercials. Two months of those commercials at playoff time is cruel and unusual. The same goes for Geico.
- The first question after the Stanley Cup Final: “Mr. Kesler, how serious is your lower-body injury?”
- I feel bad for all of the Thrashers staffers/coaches that are losing their jobs in the midst of the move to Winnipeg. But let’s be real—the Winnipeg franchise looks like they’re aiming for a fresh start. Can’t keep a bunch of people around and still have a fresh start.
- At this point in his career, the worst part of Chris Drury has nothing to do with his play on the ice—it’s his contract. If the Rangers choose to buyout his contract, how great would he look for a substantially cheaper contract on a team that needs some veteran leadership? If that’s his role, he’s useful. If someone expects him to be a top-line player, well, he’s not quite as effective.
- When Maxim Lapierre scores a goal, it proves that cheaters prosper.
- Reports from the GM meetings are the executives are considering dropping the terminology “blindside” from the new Rule 48. That means the rule that was supposed to ban blindside hits is going to get rid of the terminology “blindside.” I’m sure the players will have no problem understanding that next season.
- Here’s an idea for naming the Winnipeg franchise: wait until July 1st and offer up the naming rights in negotiations for a free agent. Winnipeg may not have many parks and it might be cold, but what other organization can offer, “sign with us and we’ll let you name the team.”
- James Reimer isn’t going to be then next Andrew Raycroft, is he? I can think of 5.4 million reasons Maple Leaf fans would be upset—which is much better than 1967 reasons.
- The good thing about Bill Guerin playing for 27 teams over his career is he had more opportunities than most ex-players to find a coaching job after his playing career. Obviously, 27 teams is an estimate; it could have been more.
- 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.
