“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:
- Hard to take seriously? Kind of becoming a cartoon? If Sean Avery were anything other than a hockey player, he’d be Comic Sans. Wait—has anyone thrown a font into the Hudson?
- Do you know what the best part of Sidney Crosby’s return was on Thursday night? It was accompanied by Kris Letang’s return to the ice. (Sidenote: You wouldn’t have known it by the “National” broadcast presented by Root Sports, but the Rangers were playing the “comeback” game without their captain and Hart candidate goaltender. Just sayin’.)
- Talk about playing out the string… The Canucks would certainly like to earn the top seed in the West, but they’ve been assured at least the #2 seed since February. Then again, the 82-game regular season is simply prelude to what really matters in Vancouver. Keep that in mind when you see the Canucks playing uninspired hockey.
- Gary Bettman said “We told clubs to conduct business as usual,” at the GM meetings in Boca Raton. Fans in Edmonton begged him to reconsider.
- The City of Vancouver is reviewing their party plans for this year’s playoff run. A friendly suggestion: no lighters.
- How can the Red Wings be so good at home and so bad on the road? Everyone knows about their NHL record 23-game home winning streak this year; an impressive stat made more impressive by the fact that they were the best road team in the NHL last season. But this year? They’ll finish with a sub .500 road record for the first time since 1999! Don’t look now, but Nashville is threatening to steal home ice advantage in the first round as well.
- Jeff Carter scored his 200th goal this week. Gee, how much things can change between goals #180 and #200.
- Just imagine how much people would appreciate Marian Hossa if he wasn’t sharing the Chicago spotlight with fellow forwards Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp. Then again, maybe this is the role he was destined to thrive in…
- With the Peyton Manning buzz and Heat success, the Panthers aren’t getting any coverage in South Florida. But you know what may help move the needed? A Southeast Division crown that is well-within reach for the Tallon’s group. Regardless, the tarps are gone.
- Good luck Justin Kloos. You have a promising NHL career ahead of you—but it’s pretty hard to top Mr. Hockey in Minnesota. You’re peaking pretty early.
- Curtis Glencross has picked the right time to get hot by scoring seven goals in seven games. If he wanted to get a little more publicity for his hot streak, he might want to consider changing his name to Sven Bartschi.
- Martin Brodeur extended his career victory mark to 651 wins—a full 100 wins more than Patrick Roy’s previous record. How many wins is that? Let’s put it this way: the two winningest, netminders (other than Brodeur) that are currently playing in the NHL are Roberto Luongo and Nikolai Khabibulin—and they have 663 wins combined.
- With everything that he’s been through throughout his career, Saku Koivu’s 1000th game means just a little bit more than most NHL milestones.
- Speaking of Finnish milestones in Anaheim, Teemu Selanne passing Jari Kurri in career points just seems like the next step in passing the torch. Kurri was the gold-standard for an entire generation of hockey players in Finland; Selanne is the gold-standard for the current generation.
- Matt Duchene lost drivers license? I didn’t start losing my license until I was 21-years-old.
- I can’t wait for the KHL game in Brooklyn next season. Maybe SKA Petersburg can sign Dwight Howard between now and next season.
"From now on, I will only play on one foot!"
- Steven Stamkos has 50 goals. Again. To put that in its proper perspective, Stamkos joins guys like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Pavel Bure, Mike Bossy, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Alex Ovechkin to hit the 50-goal mark twice before their 23rd birthday. He was probably worth that 1st overall pick in 2008.
- With all of the things the general managers could have discussed this week, cracking down on “Too many men” was an issue executives could agree on. Yes, really. It’s kind of like Congress going after steroids instead. They have plenty of issues that are far more important than “too many men.”
- Cody Hodgson struggling just shows that Sabres lost trade, right? I’ll go ahead and wait a few years before I declare a winner on that swap of prospects.
- What’s more useful? Power Rankings or a helicopter with an ejector seat?
- Something I never really appreciated when I was younger was the Masterton Trophy. Nowadays, I absolutely love the Masterton and everything it represents. With guys like Max Pacioretty, Jordin Tootoo, and Colin Fraser battling back to from extreme circumstances, I wish there was a way to recognize all 30 nominees. Forget the endless game previews and recaps, these are the stories I want to read about.
- Can the Sens really catch the Bruins in the Northeast? Maybe a better question: are the Bruins in danger of missing the playoffs? Probably not, but March isn’t the best time for a four game losing streak.
- Remember how Avs GM Greg Sherman was absolutely hammered for the Semyon Varlamov trade in the offseason? They may or may not make the playoffs this season—but it wasn’t for Varlamov’s stellar play down the stretch, they wouldn’t even be in the conversation.
- Here’s a shocker: the Red Wings aren’t the same powerhouse with Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk. Who knew that a seven-time Norris Trophy winner and the guy NHL players voted as the second best player in the league could be this important to a team?
- This just in: No Premiere Games from next year. Related: four unnamed teams just lost their built-in excuse for a slow start next season.
- On behalf of all fans around the world, can we please try to avoid another lockout? What’s the old saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…
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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.
