When reading a story yesterday, that the Boston Bruins would be attending the White House to meet with President Barack Obama in a ceremony meant to highlight last spring's Stanley Cup victory, I must admit that my reaction was one of "ho-hum". Boring...
For American sports teams, the Washington visit is one of the perks of winning a championship. Baseball teams, basketball teams, football teams, and United States based hockey teams, go to their nation's capital, pose for pictures, hand the Prez a jersey with his name on it, make a few lame jokes, everybody laughs, and everybody moves on.
When it's the Stanley Cup champions making the visit, these public relations events usually serve to show how little most presidents know about hockey.
The image of George Bush The First, not knowing who Mario Lemieux was, or of Bill Clinton calling the Detroit Red Wings captain Steve "Why-Zerr-Man" are two such instances.
I don't know this for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that Barack Obama isn't exactly an expert on the game. I could be wrong, but I suspect that if asked he would say that hybrid icing has something to do with green technology being used for the freezing of the playing surface.
So I figured that this visit would be one that would come and go as most others have in the past, a 15 second blurb at the end of the nightly sportscast. But I hadn't figured on Tim Thomas.
Today, Tim Thomas, an American-born NHL goaltender, declined the invitation to attend the White House and meet President Obama with the rest of his teammates. This of course set off the media and sent the Twitter world, well, all atwitter.
Thomas, for those who may not know, is an active member of the Tea Party, an ultra-conservative political movement. Some clues as to his political views can be seen on his mask which include the "In God We Trust" inscription on the front and a stylized Gadsden flag on the back. Thomas has also stated that he is a fan of conservative media figure Glenn Beck.
So that he is not enamored with this particular President of the United States, is certainly not a surprise. That he decided that his political convictions demanded that he snub an invitation to the White House is also not really surprising given the highly divisive nature of current American politics.
Although Thomas stated that "this was not about politics", the reality is that refusing an invitation to the White House is a profoundly political act. Regardless, how it is spun.
But be that as it may, as a hockey fan, it is a story of little or no consequence. I'm certain that his teammates are not torn in the least about this, so it won't have any effect on the cohesiveness of the Bruins.
This is not Carlos Smith at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, nor is in Muhammad Ali refusing induction in the United States Army. A hockey goalie refusing to meet the President of the United States is hardly the type of event that will have sociologists and historians writing about years from now.
I didn't care about the Bruins visiting the White House earlier today, and even with this controversy, I still don't care.
- My last trip to the hockey equipment equipment store
got me thinking: "When was the latest technological advance in the
hockey helmet?". Seems like today's helmets are pretty much the same as
they have been for the last 30 years. With all of the talk about
concussions, you'd think that helmets would have evolved. Or, maybe
not...
- Even though the top ten leading NHL scoring
leaders are within 5 points of each other, one cannot help but feel that
it's only a question of time before Pittsburgh's Evgeny Malkin starts
to separate himself from the pack. After briefly falling out of a
playoff spot last week, the Penguins have won 5 in a row, thanks in
large part to Malkin's inspired play.
- It never fails. You go out on a limb and pronounce a team as being a shoo-in to go all the way, and they thank you by going out and playing a stinker of a hockey game.
The culprits this time are the Shawinigan Cataractes whom only a few days ago, I predicted will ultimately win the President's Cup, the trophy awarded to the QMJHL champions. While I still believe that they are the best team in the league at this time, yesterday's loss to the Gatineau Olympiques shows that the road to QMJHL supremacy will not be without bumps.
Ultimately this loss may serve as a reminder to the Cataractes that while they may have a top level roster, rarely, if ever, are hockey games won on talent alone.
In their defence, the Cats were not favoured by the schedule, one of the QMJHL's glaring weaknesses, having played the night before in Quebec City, and they did fire 39 shots at the Olympiques' net. But a lot of those shots were from a fair distance, with little or no traffic in front of the Gatineau net.
Rather than continue to work at coming back from a 4-2 deficit late in the game, they lost their cool and their focus, and became embroiled in a game ending free-for-all. Frankly they looked a lot like a team who felt entitled to win. A team who figured that just showing up at the Robert Guertin Arena was enough to guarantee two points.
Very rarely does it work out that way at The Bob.
- It's too bad for the Colorado Avalanche that they are in the Western Conference. They are in the middle of a dogfight for the eighth and final playoffs spot, yet they are 10-2 vs. teams from the East.
- Good to see Mike Milbury back on Hockey Night in Canada's Satellite Hot Stove. While Milbury may not be everybody's cup of tea with his gruff manner and sometimes extreme viewpoints, I find him entertaining. Plus in a segment that features Ron MacLean, Eliotte Friedman, and Eric Francis, somebody has to bring some testosterone.
- It could be a while before we see another 500 goal scorer, in the NHL. Now that Jarome Iginla has passed that milestone, only 3 active NHLers are in the 400 to 499 goal range. Jason Arnott (412), Marian Hossa (408), and Daniel Alfredsson (404). I'm not betting on any of those players making it to the 500 mark.
- Has hockey changed? Take a look at this hit delivered by Dougie Hamilton, Boston Bruins 1st round draft pick, during a recent OHL game. The Sudbury player is dipsy-doodling around the opposing blueline with his head down for about 4 to 5 seconds before getting leveled by Hamilton. I'm not necessarily a fan of hits to the head, but come on, keep your head up kid.
Watching Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban arguing on the bench with coaches Randy Ladouceur and Randy Cunneyworth after turning over the puck in the Habs zone, a play that led to a Pittsburgh Penguins shorthanded goal, showed just how bad things are going for the Habs these days.
There was Pernell Karl, sitting alone at the end of the bench, his teammates shuffling down to their left and looking away, as the young defenceman argued on and on, even as coach Ladouceur held up his hand in a "that's enough P.K., just play" motion.
Considering the absolutely brutal game that Subban had been playing up to that point (turn over after turn over, bad penalties, getting caught pinching in at the Pittsburgh blueline), it wasn't as if the Montreal defenceman was arguing from a position of strength.
But what yesterday's game showed is just how bad things really are for the Montreal Canadiens. Not only do they have to count on a player of P.K. Subban's caliber to assume the role of number one d-man, but he feels confident enough in his role on the team that he figures that it's acceptable for him to get into a debate with his coaches during an NHL hockey game.
Some will say that what P.K. Subban did is not anywhere near as serious as the epic Patrick Roy-Mario Tremblay blow-up which led to the Hall of Fame goaltender being traded to Colorado in 1995, but that would be missing a couple of major points. The most obvious difference is that P.K. Subban is nowhere near being the hockey player that Patrick Roy was.
When Patrick Roy confronted Montreal Canadiens president Ronald Corey behind the player's bench on national television, he had 2 Stanley Cups, 2 Conn Smythe trophies, 4 Jennings trophies, 3 Vezina trophies, and 3 NHL First-All Star team selections under his belt.
P.K.Subban, on the other hand, is in his second full season in the NHL. He was selected by Montreal with the 43rd pick in the 2007 draft. Sixteen defencemen were selected ahead of him.
Yet through a series of fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your point of view) events, he has managed to find his way into a critical role within an organization that has lost its way. So overrated has he become, that many observers have taken the irrational and illogical view that somehow P.K. Subban is one of the few untouchables on the Montreal roster. A player who cannot be traded away.
That Subban ranks so incredibly high on the Canadiens depth chart is not his fault. It does however serve as a glaring example of the dire situation the Montreal hockey franchise finds itself.
Jacques Martin was heavily criticized by fans and by hockey analysts for what they felt was the stifling of Subban. That somehow Martin was preventing him from fully expressing his talents on the ice. It was as if Subban were only to be left alone to play without the shackles of a system, he would magically develop into the second coming of Bobby Orr.
The reality is that Subban is showing himself to be an incredibly selfish and high maintenance player. Last night's loss to Pittsburgh can be pinned squarely on his shoulders. Had it not been for a couple of very good saves by Peter Budaj off chances which resulted directly from Subban blunders, the Habs would not have even escaped with a single point.
If I were a fan of the Habs, I would also be very worried that even though Subban was a liability on the ice and was sucking the energy right out of the team with his on-bench attitude, the coaching staff decided to keep putting him out there, shift after shift. The message being, "it doesn't matter if you're playing poorly and being selfish, you'll still play". No consequences, at least if your name is P.K. Subban.
That Pernell Karl Subban has elite level talent is undeniable. There are nights when he can make a difference in a hockey game and be a big part of a win. But for the most part, he has not shown that he has the maturity level required to be a leader in an organization. Successful teams, whether it be in hockey or any other endeavour, are those in which the most talented people are also the best leaders.
I've been a very vocal critic of the Montreal Canadiens over my many years as a fan of the game of hockey, but the one thing that I've always respected about that organization is that everything they did seemed to be done with an eye towards ensuring the success of the team. Nothing, and no one, came before the team.
Very high on the Habs executive list needs to be the re-establishment of the mentality within the organization that every action taken by all members is to be geared toward the betterment of the team.
Make sure that those who are brought in are not only top end talent, but top end people. People who understand to build something worthwhile, you need to be prepare to fill your role, but also need to do it with a good attitude and in a manner that does not impact negatively on others.
A team, any kind of team, should be all about "us" and very little about "me''. In only 125 games in the National Hockey League, P.K. Subban has required, and received, far more attention than he warrants. The reality is that he will never be one of the NHL's top defencemen. He will never be the type of player who anchors a blueline and leads a team to the Stanley Cup.
If the Montreal Canadiens don't want to spend the next few years coddling, coaxing, and otherwise dealing with P.K. Subban, for what will probably be limited returns, then trade him. There are surely teams out there who would be interested in his talent and ability, and he could bring some interesting elements in return.
If they don't, they risk regretting it for a long time. Time will tell...
- Taylor Hall's much publicized skate cut to the face/head, which occurred during the pre-game warm up two nights ago, has many calling for NHL teams to make the wearing of helmets mandatory for all players when they hit the ice for the pre-game.
So far, Hall's Edmonton teammates have vowed to wear helmets in pre-game skates, and the Colorado Avalanche management has directed their players to do the same.The good news is that it doesn't appear as though Taylor Hall will be out of action for long. Just a question of reducing the swelling and letting the stitches heal a little and he'll be back.
The Oilers sure have been snake-bitten on the injury front as of late. Jordan Eberle was out for four games with a knee injury and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out for at least another week with a shoulder injury.
- Older fans will remember another fairly gruesome skate vs. face incident. This one occurred back in November of 1986.
Toronto defenceman, and Hockey Hall of Famer, Borje Salming, was struck in the face by a skate during a game against the Detroit Red Wings.The injury required 200 stitches to close, yet remarkably, the Swedish rearguard was in the Leafs' lineup just 3 days later.
- I've seen pretty much every team in the QMJHL (haven't seen Bathurst or Cape-Breton) in action this year, and no team has impressed me more than the new look Shawinigan Cataractes. As they are hosting this year's Memorial Cup, they were intent on icing a competitive team.
The acquisitions of Morgan Ellis and Brandon Gormley, when added to an already impressive squad headed by Mikael Bournival, have pretty much ensured that the Cats are the team to beat in the race for the QMJHL's President Cup.
- Is it just me or has Nick Foligno been at the centre of a few controversies this season? The latest was the submarining of Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf in the latest Battle of Ontario.
Foligno was assessed a two minute penalty, and while he sat in the box, many were saying that he would have to answer to Leafs strongman Jay Rosehill once he returned to the ice.
It wasn't surprising however to see Dion Phaneuf take matters into his own hands as he dropped the gloves against Foligno, in what turned out to be a spirited scrap.
You can count me as one of the the tens of thousands of players who have never been clipped like that, but one can easily imagine that being on the wrong end of a dirty hit of that ilk leaves one more than a little pissed off.
The kind of thing that would leave you saying "Never mind, I've got this one" to however happens to be the designated bodyguard on your team.
Kudos to Phaneuf for taking on Foligno, especially when you consider that he still hasn't fully recovered from taking a shot to the face in a game against the Winnipeg Jets.
While the Leafs did ultimately lose the game, seeing your captain go out there and "take care of business" surely must have left an impression on his teammates. I know that it did on me.
- While were speaking about controversial defencemen, Chris Pronger, the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers is by all accounts not doing very well in his battle with concussion symptoms. You knew it had to be a serious injury for the Flyers to announce that there was no way that Pronger would be back, so early in the season.
Because love him or hate him, there is no denying that throughout his career Chris Pronger has shown a remarkable ability to either come back from, or play through, injuries.
So for word to be getting out, both through his family and Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, that Pronger is not doing well, is unsettling.
- The NHL will be holding it's All-Star game in Ottawa in about 10 days and it would be impossible for me to care less.
The fan balloting. Who is in. Who is out. The fastest skater competition. The fastest slapshot competition. The picking of teams by the players themselves. All of it. I just don't care.
I am a hockey fan because I like watching hockey games. All this other stuff, it's just there to fill coffers which are already overflowing with money. I get that it's meant to entertain fans, showcase and promote the game, bla, bla, bla...
The fact of the matter is that I am already a fan. I'm in. You don't need to put on a special show to try and recruit me as a fan. I'm hooked. You got me.
Truth is, there is only one sport for which the all-star format works and that's baseball. If you forget about the fact that managers in All-Star games try to make sure that everybody gets in a least a little action, the All-Star game is pretty much like all the other games. Pitchers pitch, hitters hit, and away we go.
In hockey, it just doesn't work. An All-Star game doesn't look anything like a regular hockey game. There is the obvious difference caused by the lack of body contact, which is course understandable. Who would want to risk injury to self or others for the sake of an exhibition game?
There is also the lack of defense. Your level of intensity on the backcheck is directly related to the importance of the game. If you're out skating with the boys, it's not quite the same as if you're chasing the Cup.
And then there is the scoring. 11-10, 12-11, 8-7, and 12-9. Seriously, when was the last time you were at a hockey game that ended 12-9? Yet those are the final scores of the last four NHL all-star games. And those are just the recent results. You don't have to go that far back to find scores such as 16-6 and 14-12. I defy any hockey fan to sit on the edge of their seat for that.
- We've been hearing rumblings about a possible trade between Philly and Toronto that I don't like. The central parts of that rumoured deal are Luke Schenn and James van Riemsdyk.
That the Flyers are shopping in the NHL's defenceman aisle should come as no surprise. While they have managed to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference standing through the first half of the season, the reality is that they have allowed 45 more goals this season than have the Boston Bruins. Hardly a recipe for long term success.With Chris Pronger out for the season, finding someone to eat up some of his mega-minutes has proved a bit of a problem.
The Leafs on the other hand, having been bouncing around the 5th to 10th spots for the better part of the last two months. As they have not been to the playoffs since 2004, you have to think that there is some pressure to make the playoffs this season. How long ago was 2004? Well their goalie was Eddie Belfour, and the team had players such as Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Alexander Mogilny on their roster.
If these rumours are true, and they are only rumours, it's also a sign that both teams are starting to lose patience with the pace of development of their respective players. Both were high first round picks.
James van Riemsdyk was selected with the second pick in the 2007 draft. While there were some who felt that the Flyers may have let the fact that he's somewhat of a local boy, he's from New Jersey, cloud their judgement when they decided to take him with such a high pick, the reality is that none of the players selected immediately after him are off to Hall of Fame type starts to their NHL careers.
This to say that maybe thinking of JVR, as some like to call him, as a second overall draft pick is not necessarily the way to go when trying to assess his trade value.
I happen to see him as a 6'3'' forward, who plays in Philadelphia, but doesn't play like a Flyer, that is to say he's not overly physical, and while some have said that he's got 35-40 goal potential, sorry folks I don't see it. To score 40 goals in one NHL season a player has to be on his game night in, night out. I'd be more inclined to think that with him you're looking at 25-30 goals, tops.
If you're looking to get a 25-30 goal guy, you might as well go and try to get one with more major league intangibles than JVR possesses. Stuff like great leadership, gritty play, excellent special team play. I've never been a fan of the 25-30 goal player who brings little else to the rink.
Which is why I don't like the Schenn for JVR rumours. Sure it has been a bumpy ride for Schenn. Part of it is actually the Leafs' own fault. The team was so bad, that three months after drafting him with the 5th overall pick in the 2008 draft that they felt compelled to throw an 18 year old kid in the lineup for 70 NHL games, a move that was motivated, at least in part, because of pressure to give the Air Canada Centre fans a little something to cheer about, a little hope.
It's a truism that NHL defencemen take longer to develop second only to goaltenders. That Schenn seems to be stumbling a bit in his progression at this point in his career is hardly surprising and/or cause for panic. At just 22 years of age, whatever is deemed to be wrong with him can be fixed. With all of the people working in the hockey department of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club, you have to hope that someone in there can help this kid get back on track.
If he needs coddling, coddle him. If he needs a kick in the ass, kick him in the ass. If he needs a coach or mentor just for him, get a coach or a mentor just for him. But whatever is decided, just remember that in about 2-3 seasons, Luke Schenn could realistically end up being one of the top tier defencemen in the league. James van Riemsdyk will in all likelihood not be in the top tier of NHL forwards.
So trade Schenn if you feel you must, but please make sure you get us some real player, or players, in return. But James van Riemsdyk? You can do better than that.
- So Jacques Martin has been gone from the Habs dressing room for a few weeks now, and Les Glorieux have won a grand total of 4 games since.
They were two points out of a playoff spot when Pierre Gauthier decided that the kitchen was sufficiently hot and fired the coach. They are now 8 points out of a playoff spot.
Like many, my take has been that the problem in Montreal is the roster, and not necessarily the coaching staff. Sure the loss of Kirk Muller as an assistant appears to have hurt, but even Toe Blake himself, would be unable to make a winner out of this group.
Don't agree? Try this little exercise. Look at the Boston roster. Look at the New York Rangers roster. And the Philadelphia roster. Now look at the Montreal Canadiens roster. Not quite the same level is it?
We could enumerate a number of decisions that were taken by both Pierre Gauthier, and his predecessor Bob Gainey and find quite a few that didn't quite work out as planned or hoped. Decisions that made the coach's life more difficult.
But beyond all of this, what really bugs and irritates me is the hypocrisy of fans and some members of the media.
Pretty much since the season began, they've been calling for Jacques Martin's head on a platter. Fan poll after fan poll indicated that they wanted Martin to be fired. In some polls, Martin was even identified as the main problem with the Montreal Canadiens.
Writers, television and radio commentators, and the seemingly endless supply of former players employed by the media, fed the flames of this discontent day, after day, after day.
Martin is too boring. Martin is too stiff. Martin looks like he's asleep behind the bench. They would laugh at is post-game press conference, his style none too colourful. Some could be heard to say Martin was downright incompetent.
Yet as Martin embarked on a 3 day media tour, yesterday newspapers, today television, tomorrow radio, he is greeted with handshakes and smiles. Reporters who were at the front of the fire Martin parade just a few short weeks ago, are now saying that Gauthier "panicked" by firing him.
You can't have it both ways boys. It can't be "Fire him, fire him, fire him!" one day, and then "The general manager panicked when he fired him" after it happens. It's called logical reasoning, you may want to give it a try.
Now those of you who know me, which means pretty much everyone reading this, know that I'm not what would be considered a Montreal Canadiens fan. Part of it is genetic, part of it is decades of acquired distaste. Heck, if it was up to me, I'd give Pierre Gauthier a lifetime, fireproof contract as GM.
But the reality is that Geoffy Molson has to pull the plug on Gauthier before he screws things up any further. No need to wait for the perfect time to do it, there is no such time as the perfect time to replace the general manager.
Surely Molson and the board of directors have been considering this possibility and have a plan B.
If they don't, it could be a long march into the darkness for the Montreal Canadiens and their fans for many years to come.
When I was a kid, I used to think that my grandfather knew everything there was to know about sports. It seemed to me that he had seen every hockey, football and baseball game ever played. Same thing with boxing.
If he wasn't busy out on his farm tractor, or fixing stuff in his shop, he was either watching sports, reading about sports, or talking about sports.
Being the curious type that I was, I would pepper him with questions. "Who was the best hitter you ever saw?". "Who was the best pitcher you ever saw?". "Who was the best hockey player you ever saw?"
It wasn't until I asked him who he thought was the best boxer of all-time that it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, my grandfather didn't know every about sports after all.
"Joe Louis", he blurted out, his attention never leaving whatever it was that he was working on. "Joe Louis? What about Muhammad Ali?"
"Ali's got a big mouth." he said, as he turned to look at me, probably taken a little aback by my new found unwillingness to simply take his word on it. "But he's so fast. And he can take a punch, look at what he did to Foreman."
My reference to the legendary Rumble in the Jungle, failed to impress. "Foreman just swang away like a madman. Louis would have picked him apart had he stood in ropes like that." he replied, not quite sure what to make of my sudden incredulity. "I dunno..." I said, as we moved on to another subject.
Few days later, he handed me a book. "Here. Read this." It was a well worn paperback. Joe Louis. My Life. "If you're going to argue, you might as well know what you're talking about." Clearly I had struck a nerve.
Before he let me go that evening, he went on to tell me about how in 1938, he and some of the men he was working with in the woods had piled into an old truck and traveled over the bumpy roads that led them back into town where they were to listen to the second Joe Louis-Max Schmeling fight on the radio.
He told me how two years previously, Louis and Schmeling had met in the ring in New York's Yankee Stadium. Schmeling, a German, represented the Nazis, which meant all that was evil. Louis, on the other hand, was a young kid from the southern U.S. who had risen from utter poverty, and was undefeated going into that fight.
Many observers, my grandfather included, felt that Louis didn't take the first fight as seriously as he should have and let his 24-0 record get to his head. "Schmeling gave him a boxing lesson that night" was his verdict. Like most boxing fans, he thought that ultimately Louis was a better boxer and if he trained properly and headed into the fight with the right mindset, he could take down "Hitler's man".
"By the time I got home, the fight was over" he said, a mixture of sadness for having missed it, and pride in the job done by his favourite boxer. "It didn't even go one full round.".
It certainly was one of the most impressive boxing displays in the history of the sport. Right from the opening bell Louis went on the attack. In the 2 minutes and 4 seconds, he threw 41 punches at Schmeling. 31 of those punches landed solidly, causing the German to hit the canvas on three occasions before the referee mercifully stopped the fight. "Sent Schmeling to the hospital for 10 days, before they shipped him back to Germany".
I did go on to read the book. I could certainly understand why Joe Louis was held in such high esteem by fans of my grandfather's generation. He had slayed the symbol of Nazi Germany and stood as the World Heavyweight Champion for an amazing 12 years. But Ali was still my man.
Louis may have knocked out Schmeling, but Ali had taken out the dreaded and feared Sonny Liston not once, but twice. And, like Louis, Ali lost a big fight to a formidable foe. It was dubbed "The Fight of the Century" and it was held in Madison Square Garden in 1971.
It pitted Ali against the reigning champion, "Smokin' Joe" Frazier, and it was to be the first of three legendary battles between the two great champions. Ali would come back to defeat Frazier twice. By unanimous decision in New York in 1972 and one more time, in one of boxing's most memorable fights, The Thrilla in Manila, a technical knockout win, 1975.
And then came 1978. Leon Spinks had won the Olympic gold medal boxing medal in the light heavyweight division in Montreal, just as Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) had in Rome in 1960.
Spinks headed into the fight, held at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a professional record of 7 wins and a draw against a largely unimpressive group of opponents. Ali on the other hand was coming off three very tough 15 round decision wins against top notch fighters, Ken Norton, Alfredo Evangelista, and Earnie Shavers.
Heading into the Spinks fight, Ali was merciless towards his fellow Olympic champion during interviews that lead up to the first fight. He called him stupid. He called him ugly. He denigrated his boxing skills.
Ali went into the fight seemingly expecting to easily cruise to victory against a much less experienced boxer. What he ended up getting was a much younger, and much fitter, opponent who came at him for 15 rounds. Spinks took the fight in a unanimous decision, that shocked many, but not all.
"You can't go around talking about your opponents like that. Last night, Ali got what he's had coming for a while", was my grandfather's analysis of the bout. "He's finished, he should call it quits".
Had Ali followed his advice and retired following that fight, the question of who was the better champion, Louis or Ali, would be a much more debatable one.
Louis' last fight had also been a loss, but against a young Rocky Marciano. And Leon Spinks, all would agree, was no Rocky Marciano.
In an interview with his longtime friend and confidant Howard Cosell just prior to the second Ali-Spinks fight, held at the Superdome in New Orleans, Ali stated that there were a few main reasons why he chose to fight Spinks one more time.
The first reason he mentioned was that he wanted to become the first black boxer to retire as the heavyweight champion of the world. The second reason was that he wanted to become the first boxer to win the heavyweight crown three times. He also mentioned that he believed that he simply was a better boxer than Leon Spinks.
On September 15th 1978, Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks in a unanimous 15 round decision. Although Ali had lost much of his legendary speed, he controlled the match from start to finish.
"A pretty impressive fight," was the family patriarch's assessment "a good way to retire". Alas, as we now know, Ali did not retire.
Instead of hanging up the gloves as reigning Heavyweight Champion of the World, the only boxer to win that title on three different occasions, he chose to go on.
Two years after the last Spinks fight, Ali, by then out of shape and showing the signs of what was later to be diagnosed as Parkinson's disease, stepped into the ring with one of his former sparring partners, Larry Holmes.
At 30, Holmes was the reigning champion and at the top of his game. From the outset it was clearly no match. Had it not been for Holmes' unwillingness to embarrass or injure his boxing hero, the bout would have ended much sooner.
The sight of his longtime trainer, and friend, the legendary Angelo Dundee, yelling at the referee who asks Ali "What do you want to do?" before the start of the 11th round "The ballgame's over, I'm the chief, stop the fight", was heartbreaking.
As Larry Holmes walked to the centre of the ring after taking a moment to speak with Ali who was still sitting on his stool, unable or unwilling to stand, tears rolled down the younger champ's face.
Announcer Howard Cosell, one of the best boxing analysts of all-time said at that moment, "For Muhammad," his voice cracking, "it is time to face the final curtain".
Unbelievably, there was to be one more fight, this time against Trevor Berbick. Although Ali was in somewhat better condition than he had been for the Holmes fight, he lost an unanimous 10 round decision. A sad ending to an unfitting final 3 years of boxing.
While my grandfather and I never did agree as to who was the greatest boxer of all-time, we did agree that Ali stayed on too long.
If you haven't been to a QMJHL game in a few years, one of the things you will notice is that fighting is way down. What used to be a common occurrence, part and parcel of most games, has slowly but steadily been disappearing over the last decade.
Before going on, please take a moment to view this short clip.
Other than the ugly and blatant knee-on-knee hit that was delivered on the Remparts' star 16 year old rookie Anthony Duclair by Val d'Or defenceman Alex Filiatrault, do you notice anything about this particular sequence?
If you are an older hockey fan, like me, there is a good chance that you noticed that the response to the hit by Duclair's teammates might be qualified as somewhat reserved. Polite, even. In fact, the only Remparts gloves to be found on the ice are those of Duclair himself as he writhes in pain on the ice.
Now, have a look at this other knee-on-knee hit on another star Remparts rookie, 17 year old Nick Sorensen. This time the hit was delivered by Baie-Comeau's veteran forward Jonathan Lessard back on October 28th.
Do you see any similarities? Well for one, they both occurred on the Remparts' home ice, second, they both involve highly talented rookie players, and third, the response by the Quebec players cannot be qualified as being very energetic. The fact that in the last frame of the clip, Jonathan Lessard is seen, standing, unmolested, over the injured Sorensen, speaks, at least to me, volumes.
Now there will be plenty who will say that fighting has no place in hockey and that all it accomplishes is an escalation in violence and that it has no real tactical or strategic value for a team.
Others will say that there are rules in place to protect the players and that we should simply let the referees and league officials apply those rules and every thing will be fine.
The reality is that hockey is, and always has been, a violent game. How can it not be? It is played on a hard surface, in an enclosed area, by men on skates, with sticks, shooting a hard puck, all at high speed. Physical contact is not only inevitable, it is part and parcel of the way the game is played.
It is also a game where teamwork is an essential element for success. One of the basic tenets of teamwork, is that individual players are expected to look out for their teammates.
While I know that my view is widely seen as coming from another time, another generation, most successful hockey teams over the years have had a "One for all, all for one" mentality. You attack one of us, you attack all of us.
This is not to say that all teams should behave like marauding bands of thugs, but opponents need to know that you will stick up for each other and deliver a response when teams start taking liberties with your players. This is particularly true on your home ice in front of your own fans.
When looking at the response of the Quebec Remparts to blatant assaults on two of their young star players, one can't help but think that they look a little like the little kid who runs to the teacher or to his mommy whenever something goes wrong. You see a lot of pointing and hear lots of complaining, but not much else.
"If you can't beat them in the alley, you can't beat them on the ice", this was true when Hall of Fame coach and general manager Conn Smythe said it decades ago, and it's still true now.
* Note: Jonathan Lessard was suspended for 15 games for his hit on Nick Sorensen who is out for the season. Anthony Duclair's injury is less severe that originally feared. He will likely miss 7 to 10 days. No word as of this writing on supplementary discipline to Alex Filiatrault.
- All reports seem to indicate that the 2013 NHL Winter Classic will pit the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in an Original Six match up that will be held at either Michigan Stadium or Comerica Park. Having had the opportunity to visit both those venues, my vote would be Comerica Park.
- It will be interesting to see if the Leafs and Wings will take part in ESPN's 24/7 in the same way as the Capitals, Penguins, Flyers, and Rangers have done in the past. Not sure that these two franchises would be willing to throw their doors open to the cameras in quite the same uncensored way as has been done in the past.
- Just as we've past the halfway point of the NHL seasons, there are already six teams which are out of the playoff race. Edmonton, Anaheim, Columbus in the West. Tampa, Carolina, and the Islanders in the East. Of that group, you have to think the future is brightest in Edmonton.
- What a difference a few months make... As the Boston Bruins began the regular season by stumbling out of the gate, many fans were calling for coach Claude Julien to be fired. Fast forward to mid-January and the B's are one point out of first place in the East, and all seems well. The fickle world of hockey.
- A team heading in the opposite direction is the Minnesota Wild. It seems like just a few weeks ago they were atop the standings in the Western Conference and were the toast of the hockey world. Now they are 2-7-1 in their last ten games. With Dallas, Colorado, Calgary and Phoenix nipping at their heels in the race for the 8th and final playoff spot, I wouldn't be willing to bet on their chances of making the post season.
- It's a little early to be talking about coach of the year candidates, but you have to think that Ottawa Senators bench boss Paul MacLean will get some consideration for the Jack Adams Award should his team continue their surprisingly good play down the stretch.
- Another obvious candidate is St-Louis coach Ken Hitchcock. The Blues' turnaround has been nothing short of spectacular, although with Hitchcock's coaching resume, it was certainly not unexpected.
- "Small players have to prove they can play, big players have to prove they can't.'' Every time I read about Dustin Penner, that Theoren Fleury quote comes to mind. The 6'4" 245lbs Penner, has one assist in his last five games and just two goals this season for the Los Angeles Kings.
- I don't usually follow soccer, but I found it interesting to not Patrice Bernier, a player that was recently signed by the Montreal Impact, is the same Patrice Bernier who played for the Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL in the late 1990's. It's a team that featured many future NHLers, J-P Dumont, Steve Begin and Roberto Luongo among them.
- Last week Teemu Selanne became just the 13th player in NHL history to score 650 goals. Another milestone is well within reach for the future Hall of Famer. The 41 year old sits just 15 points behind Jari Kurri and surpassing him would make Selanne the highest scoring Finnish born player in NHL history.
- Let's finish this off with a little trivia. Who is the NHL's career leader in shots on goal? A piece of pie for you if you knew that Ray Bourque, with 6206 career SOG is the leader in that category. In fact, it's not even close. Bourque sits 840 shots ahead of the runner up, Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne who finished his career with 5366 SOG.
Just as I was about to sit down
and write a few words about how Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier had no
choice but to move disgruntled left-winger Michael Cammalleri following
the latter's recent indifferent play and comments to the press, it
started. "It" being the Twittersphere.
Cammalleri had been traded, but no one seemed to know where. Or more
importantly for Canadiens fans, for whom. Minutes passed... Then word
came... Calgary. A few more minutes passed... Rene Bourque was going to
Montreal. Surely there was more in return, people wondered.
Fast forward a few minutes and out came Pierre Gauthier with the news.
Cammalleri, goaltender Karri Ramo, and 2013 5th round pick, in exchange
for Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a 2012 2nd round pick.
At first blush, it appears that Gauthier may have moved as reaction
Cammalleri stating that the Habs had a losing attitude, prepared like
losers, and played like losers. It was also reported that Cammalleri
stated that he was satisfied with his level of play.
No sooner had these reports been published that the outcry came. "How
dare he call his teammates losers?" and "How dare he say he's playing
well?". Not to mention that he appeared to be throwing newly appointed
interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth under the bus.
Pierre Gauthier stated, when announcing the trade to the media, that
this was not a reactionary move, but something that he had been working
on for a few weeks, only that now the "timing" was right to pull the
trigger.
One thing is certain, Cammalleri had to go. And fast. Especially on the
heels of recent public relations disasters. Montreal does not suffer
public relations disaster gladly. Especially when it involves a player
perceived as having slighted the almighty CH logo.
Gauthier has already started spinning the story as acquiring Rene
Bourque is a move that gives them someone who plays the game with a high
degree of passion, a tough, physical player. We'll have to wait and see
how that turns out, because Flames fans were accusing Bourque of some
of the same sins as those attributed to Cammalleri. Indifferent play.
Inconsistent effort.
So for what it's worth, I think Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster wins this
one. In the short term, Cammalleri gives them some needed scoring
punch. Sure, he hasn't shown it much this season, but it's a safe bet
that he will kick the intensity up a couple of notches over the course
of the next few weeks.
If the Flames, do end up making the playoffs, Cammalleri has shown that he can be very valuable in that setting.
If they fail to make the playoffs, Feaster could potentially deal
Cammalleri at the deadline for much more than he paid to get him.
Because think what you want of Cammalleri, he can play, and he can score. And he can score in the playoffs.
Yesterday, the NHL's chief judge and executioner, Brendan Shanahan, suspended Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand for 5 games following his hit on Vancouver Canucks defenceman Sami Salo last Saturday afternoon, in what was one of the best games of the season.
There has been quite a bit of discussion about the play, and as usual, the hockey world seems split almost 50/50 as to whether Shanahan made the right call. For what it's worth, I think it was the right call.
To recap, Sami Salo and Brad Marchand were both heading towards a loose puck along the boards. It was a very similiar situation to one which had taken place a mere 15 seconds previously. In the first play, both players went shoulder to shoulder, with the result being that the much larger Salo outmuscled Marchard in the battle for the puck.
In the second instance, Marchand lowered his body and hit Salo near the back of the left knee, causing the latter to flip "arse over tea kettle", suffering a shoulder injury and a concussion in the process.
While the infraction is termed clipping, in common hockey parlance it is called submarining and is viewed as being one of the more dangerous and less honourable plays.
Some have said that in the play Marchand was simply put himself in a defensive position preparing for a big hit. It is in an argument that I don't buy because you can clearly see Marchand drive his shoulder through Salo's body, hardly a defensive maneuver.
Others have said that Shanahan's suspension of Marchand is too long. Again, I disagree.
One of the main arguments for NHL teams for retaining the services of players whose main, if not only purpose, is to fight, is that they are necessary to act as policemen to prevent, or at least counteract, the actions of players who regularly use illegal, and dangerous, tactics on the ice. Players such as Marchand.
Brendan Shanahan has clearly stated, over and over, since the season began, that the NHL is striving to do away with on-ice vigilantism and justice making by ensuring that the league lives up to its responsibility in terms of player safety by making sure that illegal and dangerous acts are dealt with seriously.
So, the message is clear. Submarining is something that the NHL takes seriously. Do it, and expect to have to pay the consequences.
- A few years back I worked for a car rental agency at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal. Among our customers were a few that the company deemed to be VIPs, and as such their cars would be driven up directly to the doors for them. Among these people was the general manager of a National Hockey League team.
He spoke with a thick French accent, had a raspy voice, and a gruff manner. Some of the girls who worked at the counter were actually kind of intimidated by him. "He always looks angry", one of them said.
Over the course of a few months, I got to know him a little bit. As someone who follows hockey a somewhat, I would say things like "Nice win over Detroit last Tuesday", or, "I see that so-and-so scored his 100th point this week", and a short conversation would take place.
One time, I mentioned to him that I had read somewhere that he was renowned for being able to remember the birth dates of virtually every player who had played in the NHL over the course of the last 50 years. "Was this true?", I asked. "Try me", was the reply.
In almost Rain Man-esque fashion, he answered "March 28, 1948" "February 29th 1936" and so on, correctly matching birth day to player.
As the months wore on, he began to throw trivia questions my way. Smiling and nodding when I got the answer right, shaking his head in disappointment when I got the answer wrong.
A few months after I left that job, one of the women who worked there with me gave me a call. "That old hockey guy left a package here for you, he didn't know your name, but when he gave the description, I knew he was talking about you.".
When the package finally made its way to me, I opened it up to find a St-Louis Blues golf shirt, and a note "Good luck with your new team. Prof"
Ronald "Le Prof" Caron, former General Manager of the St-Louis Blues, and NHL scouting legend, died yesterday at the age of 82. He was born on December 19th 1929.
There was a time, not that long ago, when most fans could name every building in the NHL. There were the obvious ones. The Original Six buildings. Boston Garden, Madison Square Garden. The Montreal Forum, Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens. Chicago Stadium and the Olympia in Detroit.
Beyond the venerable old NHL hockey temples, expansion brought us places such as the Spectrum in Philadelphia, the Buffalo Auditorium and Forum in Los Angeles.
Most of those buildings are now gone. They have been replaced with modern amphitheaters which offer much more in terms of comfort and convenience. Luxury boxes and high end eateries certainly help bring in more revenue for the owners.
But gone are the local touches. The quirks that made the old buildings special, unique. Hockey buildings have become asepticized and boring. They are all the same. With names such as the HP Pavillion, the Honda Centre, the Verizon Centre, the Air Canada Centre. Boring...
As someone who readily admits to being a nostalgic type, I miss the weird seating arrangement of Maple Leaf Gardens (green, grey, gold?), the standing room tickets and the requisite run for the best spots at the Montreal Forum. The smell of Boston Garden, not really good or bad, just distinctive. The stairs at Chicago Stadium that led from behind the Blackhawks' bench to their dressing room.
In these days of corporate sponsorship and and out of control consumerism, I can't help but feel that all the buildings are the same. Much like our strip mall suburbs. All the same. Only the jerseys they sell are different.
There's an old adage in hockey that says that quite often the best trade you make, is the one that you don't.
As we watched players like Morgan Ellis, Brandon Gormley, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Logan Shaw head for new teams with hopes of playoff success, you have to think that the PEI Rocket received some calls inquiring about the availability of their star 19 year old forward, Ben Duffy.
Duffy, for those who may not know, recently became the franchise's career leading scorer, and is presently in 5th spot in this season's QMJHL scoring race with 59 points in 41 games. On many nights he has been one of the only, if not the only, bright spots on a young Rocket squad looking to find it's way.
He has proven himself, night in and night out, to be the kind of player that most coaches dream about. A low maintenance type of guy, who just goes out there, plays hard, and produces on a consistent basis. On a young team such as the PEI Rocket, that type of leadership can pay off handsomely as they strive to establish a competitive and winning mindset.
To be sure there will be some who say the PEI club missed an opportunity to pick up some interesting prospect, either in terms of players already in the league or in terms of high draft picks. It is a fair argument. But not one to which I happen to subscribe. To have a clear view of this, one must take a good look and see what the Rocket now has in hand.
On the blue line, the club counts players who are developing, and will continue to develop in to fine hockey players. At only 16 years of age, Ryan Graves is showing that not only can he play in the league, but will likely become one of its top d-men. At only 18, Jimmy Oligny is continuing to improve. Dane Phaneuf, whom the Rocket signed for nothing, has proven himself to be a valuable addition. He is only 17 years old. Add to that Michael Abbott, 18, and recent addition Tyrone Sock, also 18, and it's easy to understand why there is justification for optimism in regards to the squad of Rocket rearguards.
Up front, Josh Currie and Victor Provencher are both 18 and are expected to continue to develop. 16 year old Yan-Pavel Laplante has shown that he will become a force in this league. 17 year old Matthew Bursey, picked up earlier this season in a trade with Shawinigan, is quickly becoming a fan favourite, with his combination of high energy play and skill.
As of this writing, the PEI Rocket sits in 17th place in the QMJHL, 2 points out of the final playoff spot, with two games in hand. To be sure, the first few months of the season have been trying at times. As with all young teams, putting together a consistent effort over the course of a full 60 minutes has been a challenge. Let's face it, putting together a consistent effort over the course a full 60 minutes is a challenge for most hockey teams.
But there have been bright spots. You can point to some positive performances. A come from behind win in OT at the Robert Guertin Arena against the Olympiques comes to mind. As does the recent streak of 4 wins against Maritime Division opponents.You could also point to the fact that this team doesn't quit, a trait that will pay off on the long run.
Yes, the future is bright in PEI for Gordie Dwyer and his Rocket. Keeping Ben Duffy not only gives them a very real shot at making the playoffs this year, it gives them the opportunity to start next season with one of the best 20 year olds in the league. A 20 year old who will lead what promises to be a team to be reckoned with a solid core of young players who will continue to develop.
The Victoriaville Tigres defeated the visiting Quebec Remparts last night by the score of 5-4 in overtime, before 3420 fans who were treated to one heck of a hockey game.
And while this game could very likely just be a preview of a playoff series come spring, what is dominating the airwaves and papers in the land of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League today are Patrick Roy's post game comments.
In this latest episode of Roy's Rants, the Hall of Fame goaltender, Quebec City hockey icon, and Remparts coach ripped into the officials, specifically the video officials, for their decision to allow Victoriaville's 3rd goal, breaking what was then a 2-2 tie, in the second minute of the third period.
At issue for Patrick Roy is the fact that the on ice official seems to have been overruled by the video official as to whether or not the puck was kicked in by Victoriaville forward, Phillip Danault.
Whether or not the goal ultimately should have counted, it's not for me to say. And I have no real problem with the coach of a hockey team griping at the officials either during or post-game.
Patrick's detractors, and there are many, do hoewver have a point when they question whether or not it is proper for one of Quebec's most influential hockey personalities to comment in such a way in front of reporters.
Even if you don't understand French, have a quick listen to this, and read on lower if you wish.
So among all of the cursing and swearing, Patrick Roy qualifies the Victoriaville off-ice officials as what might be roughly translated as a "bunch of effin' amateurs". He goes on to say that it was a disgrace, and that the official should lose his job.
He may be right in that assessment, and he may be wrong, far be it for a regular Joe Hockey Fan like me to say.
But it's fair to question the way in which Mr. Roy went about showing his displeasure. Because rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, there are many of us who believe that Patrick Roy has a responsibility as one of the game's greatest players to conduct himself with a certain degree of decorum.
Make no mistake about it, Patrick Roy has been good for the QMJHL. He's a solid coach, icing a competitive squad year after year. On paper, as they say, he seems to be a legitimate candidate for a job at higher levels of the game, should he so wish.
But there are question marks. Two big question marks. Is Patrick Roy a loose cannon, and can a if so, can a loose cannon coach in the NHL?
It would be fairly easy to demonstrate that Mr. Roy has a propensity to blowing gaskets, as we say. Sure, it was many years ago, but think back to when he stormed past then-Montreal Canadiens' coach Mario Tremblay and haughtily declared to club president Ronald Corey, something along the lines of "I've played my last game for this team", thus tying the hands of the organization and forcing a trade. Hardly a graceful exit.
There was also the incident involving his son, at the time the Quebec Remparts goalie, attacked the opposing goaltender, Chicoutimi's Bobby Nadeau, and attempted to beat him senseless, even though it was clear that Nadeau wanted no part of the fight. You might argue that these were the actions of a player, and the coach is limited in his ability to control what players do on the ice, but not many buy that argument as it relates to that particular incident.
Post game blowups and verbal attacks on a wide variety of subjects have become part and parcel of Mr. Roy's coaching career. Part of it is easy to understand. He is obviously an ultra-competitive person. One does not achieve the things that he has without a very high degree of passion. He cares about winning. Deeply. It's one of the traits that made him so popular with fans.
But there are limits to what people can say, and certainly limits as to how to say things. Some cursing and swearing while voicing displeasure about a situation is one thing. Ripping into officials, calling their competence into question, and saying you hope they lose their jobs is quite another.
Surely the league officials will want to have a listen to these comments, and an appropriate penalty will be levied. You simply can't have the integrity and competency of officials called into question in such a public way.
Just ask New York Rangers coach John Tortorella. He was fined by the NHL for much milder criticism of officiating during the recent Winter Classic that pitted the Blueshirts against the Flyers a few days ago.
It's a basic fact of life. You can't go blasting the bosses or the company in public. If you don't think that's true, give it a try. Let us know how you make out.
So, to be sure, Patrick Roy crossed a line here. It's not the end of the world, but it deserves some sort of reprimand.
But ultimately the loser in all of this could end up being Patrick Roy himself.
You have to think that the people Bell Centre offices, headquarters of the Montreal Canadiens, have noticed as well.
You have to figure that eventually, if it ever gets down to deciding whether or not to approach him about coaching in Montreal, someone is going to ask the question "Is Patrick Roy well suited to coach, and represent, our hockey club?".
Stuff like last night's outburst certainly doesn't help his case.
The dust has settled somewhat since Team Canada lost its semi-final match-up against the Russians two nights ago at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Calgary by the ironic score of 6-5.
Fans have hardly had the time to conduct a proper autopsy of the heartbreaking loss to our long time international foes, that now our boys must hit the ice this afternoon in the bronze medal game against Finland.
While it is certainly true that we never send a hockey team to represent us, and our game, hoping and dreaming for a bronze medal, winning this game is very important for a number of reasons.
Beyond the facts that as a nation, it often feels as though the only thing we can really agree on is the fact that we all believe that hockey and Canada are synonymous, and that a loss today will undoubtedly send all the writers, analysts, and barroom experts in a tizzy, winning this game is important for the players.
I would suspect that being selected as a member of Team Canada is the highest honour that these young men have ever had bestowed upon them. Of the thousands and thousands of boys who play this game across the country, these are the chosen ones.It is something that they have dreamed about, and worked towards, their whole lives.
A win today and they can say that they came back hard in the 3rd period against the Russians, lost by a goal, and kept it going for one more game. A loss however, would rob them of that privilege and turn what should have been one of their lives' greatest times, into one that they'd rather forget.
And when it's all said and done, no one wants to have to live with regrets.
When HBO first brought us into the every day life of the NHL with last season's 24/7 series, which featured the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, three things really struck me.
The first was level of access that was given to the producers of the much talked about series. It seems as though nothing was off limits to the crew. Sure we got to go into the dressing rooms, coaches offices, team meetings and practice facilities, but they also brought us into the team planes, hotels, and even some of the players' homes. Filmmakers dream about having such access to their subjects.
The second thing that struck me about last season's series was Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau. I'm certain that the editors of the series were wringing their hands with glee when they first sat down to look over the rough cuts of the footage they shot with the Caps bench boss.
Filmmakers looks for characters with depth. Someone who is interesting looking, in an interesting setting, doing interesting things, in an interesting way.
They certainly got that in spades with Boudreau. The sight of this short, fat, man in the midst pro athletes in the prime of their athletic lives certainly illustrated a contrast. "One of these things is not like the others" as they say on Sesame street.
The level of energy and intensity displayed by Boudreau throughout the series was also fascinating. Seemingly always in motion, always talking, always in the game. It's like the guy has no off switch.
Couldn't help but remember that television series when Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Capitals earlier this season. All the ranting and raving, and cursing and swearing wears thin after a while.
Which brings me to the third element of the series that struck me in the first, and in second, which this time features the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, is the level of language used in the shows final cut.
Specifically, the use of the word "fuck". Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the word fuck. I make use of it myself quite often. When I was in the Army, it was probably the most commonly used verb/noun/adjective.
But the boys in HBO's 24/7 take it to a whole new level. "Fuck this". "Fuck that". "Here a fuck, there a fuck. Everywhere a fuck, fuck." Holy fuck boys, enough with the fuck...
The incidental use of the word fuck, in a series chronicling a hockey team is not surprising, in fact, it's to be expected, but I take issue with the overuse of it in the editing process. It's one thing to let the f-bombs drop when it's used during speeches and on-ice action, quite another when inserted over the top of a video track simply for effect. A couple of examples of this can be found in the third episode of this year's series.
In one shot, a New York Ranger is seen throwing a hard bodycheck. Off camera, someone is heard, presumably a player on the Philadelphia Flyers bench, saying, "Fuckin' Johnny Mitchell...". In another scene, the Philadelphia Flyers score a goal. While the camera stays with the on-ice action, we can clearly hear New York coach John Tortorella exclaim "For fuck sakes" off camera.
Now, these were clearly editorial choices. Someone sat down and decided to put those particular audio clips over those particular video clips. With fuck making at least 75 to 100 appearances in the one hour episode, it is doubtful that the show would suffer by leaving a couple out.
Again, I don't have a major issue with using the word fuck in this series, but some care should be given to avoid using it too much. For fuck sakes.
In the pages of my old Hockey Digests of the 1970's, between the Stan Mikita hockey tips and the hockey school ads, you can find a couple of pages from small mail-order businesses selling hockey themed T-shirts.
The shirts have short sayings and art work printed on them. Things like "World's Greatest Rink Rat" and "Give Blood, Play Hockey".
But the T-shirt I remembered yesterday as I watched 66 year-old Hall of Fame goaltender Bernie Parent make a special once-in-every-32-years appearance in an oldtimers/reunion/hockey celebration in Philadelphia, had a Flyers logo in the centre.
Above the logo it was written; "Only the Lord", and below the logo, "Saves More Than Bernie Parent!"
Photo: Bernie Parent waves to the 45808 fans gathered at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.
It's not certain that the Almighty would have approved of some of the tactics used by the Philadelphia Flyers, AKA, The Broad Street Bullies. But the fact is that with a team with players such as Bobby Clarke, Rick MacLeish, Bill Barber and Reggie Leach, and the coaching of Fred "The Fog" Shero, none of it would have been possible without Bernie Parent.
When the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup in 1974, Bernie Parent was 29 years old. Although he was born and raised in Montreal, he played his junior hockey in Ontario. He was the contractual property of the Boston Bruins and played for one of their junior teams in the OHA, the Niagara Falls Flyers. As a member of that team, he won the 1965 Memorial Cup.
He was one of the dozens of hockey prospects from the province of Quebec during the 50's and 60's who played in Ontario towns. They belonged to teams like Detroit, Chicago, the New York Rangers, and Boston. Names such as Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert, who played in Guelph. Pierre Pilote who played in St-Catharines, and Marcel Pronovost in Windsor. All players, who like Bernie Parent, are in the Hockey Hall of Fame today.
Photo: Bernard Parent smiles for the camera in this 1960's Boston Bruins picture.
In 1967, the Bruins left Bernie Parent unprotected for the expansion draft (the NHL went from 6 to 12 teams) as Gerry Cheevers was chosen by the Boston Bruins hockey department to become the next number one goalie in Boston, and thus Parent was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with their first pick.
He would play five solid, if uneventful, seasons with the Flyers before ending up in Toronto for the 1970-71 season. It was here that Parent's career took a fortunate turn that would help him blossom from solid NHL goaltender, to eventual Hall of Famer, for the Maple Leafs' other goaltender was none other than Jacques Plante. It was during his two seasons, spending every day talking to, and learning from, not only of the game's greatest goalies but also one of the game's great teachers.
Photo: Bernie Parent and Toronto defenceman Bobby Baun focus on the play in 1971.
After spending two seasons with the Leafs, the upstart World Hockey Association came calling with its rich contracts, and Parent headed back to Philadelphia, this time with the Blazers. His time with the league, much like the circuit itself, was to be short-lived, and so as the 1973-74 season began, Bernie Parent was back with the Philadelphia Flyers, and ultimately, on his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Parent started his second career with the Flyers by setting a new NHL record for wins in a single regular season with 47. He managed to keep a miniscule 1.89 goals against average on his way to the Vezina Trophy.
Photo: Bernie Parent in action with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1974-75 season.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers romped through the first round, blowing out the desperately outmatched Atlanta Flames in four straight games. The highlight of the opening round was coach Fred Shero being attacked while walking down the street in Atlanta, resulting in a pair of broken glasses, a black eye, and a nasty cut that required about a dozen or so stitches. Why Fred Shero would be walking around alone in a hostile town when he had Schultz, Saleski, Kelly, and Moose Dupont more than willing and more than able to moonlight as bodyguards for a few minutes remains a mystery.
The second round was a much different story. The Flyers were up against the New York Rangers. And the New York Rangers had a hell of a hockey team. Ratelle and Gilbert brought speed, stickhandling, passing, and shooting on a par with what most teams could bring. Add Brad Park, widely considered to be the 1970's best defenceman this side of Bobby Orr.
In nets the Rangers were solid, with proven Ed Giacomin, a Madison Square Garden fixture, and a younger, talented, Gilles Villemure available as back should the need arise.
It was a hard fought series. Both literally and figuratively. It went the full seven games and there were moments of great hockey brilliance, but there was also the brawling, and the beatings, that were part and parcel of the Broad Street Bullies modus operandi.
Lost in the sorry spectacle of fights such as Dave Schultz pulling the hair of New York Rangers defenceman Dale Rolfe, and continuing on with a barrage of right hooks to the much taller, but less pugilistically experienced or talented player's head. As one Flyer's player said after the game, "if Rolfe had've been one of our guys, we would have all jumped in.".
Link to video of Dave Schultz vs. Dale Rolfe
With Bernie Parent countering every chance that the Rangers had, with great save after great save, and the brawlers running amok, the talent of Clarke, Barber, and Rick MacLeish was just too much for the Blueshirts to handle.
Prior to that series, the Philadelphia Flyers had a record of 1 win and 19 losses in the 20 games they had played in Madison Square Garden since the 1967-68 season. It was also to be the first time that a team from the expansion class defeated an Original Six team in a Stanley Cup playoff series. They had slayed two dragons, and found themselves just 4 wins away from a third.
Standing between the Philadelphia Flyers and that first Cup were the Boston Bruins. And the Bruins, were heavily favoured to win. We've since heard anecdotal references to odds in the 50-1 range for the Big Bad Bruins.
For inasmuch the same way as the Flyers were doing in 1973-74, the Bruins had done much the same just a few years earlier, that is mixed high caliber talent, solid goaltending, and pugnacity into a winning combination. The main difference was that when it came to fighting, the Flyers brought it to a whole new level. Players like Cashman, Hodge, and Vadnais, could take care of themselves when the gloves were dropped, but fighting was not constantly at the forefront of their on-ice pre-occupations.
With Fred Shero, fighting was used as a tactic to win a hockey game. Both before, and now after, Shero, fighting has mostly been either a diversion, or a result of playing a highly physical game in a restricted area. Players are skating around hard, fights are going to happen thinking. Shero used it as a way to break the opponent's will to win.
In the series against the Bruins, there was much fighting, of course, but their was also some dramatic hockey. Like in the first game, played in Boston. Bobby Orr scored the game winner, a 3-2 affair, with less than 30 seconds to go in the third period.
The second game saw the Flyers leader, Bobby Clarke score the winner in overtime, after defenceman Moose Dupont, had tied it up late in third. Clarke's goal came off a Boston turnover which had been provoked by a forechecking Dave Schultz.
Bobby Clarke scores OT winner, Game 2, 1975 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Flyers jumped into a 3-1 series lead after that, taking games 3 and 4, in the Spectrum.
Game 5 back in Boston had a fairly decisive result. The Bruins controlled the play pretty much start to finish and although they trailed 3-2 at that point, it really looked and felt as though, it was now just a question of time. That the Bruins had finally figured out the Flyers and were going to take care of business in games 6 amd 7 and bring the Cup back to Boston.
So cue Game 6, 1974 Stanley Cup Finals. The Spectrum fans are frantic. Kate Smith, is brought out to centre ice to sing "God Bless America". The Flyers had 37 wins and only 3 losses in games where Ms. Smith sang in person up to that point. When you get ready to play the biggest game in franchise history, you bring out everything you have.
But in the end, it was Bernie Parent who ended up making the difference. The Bruins dominated the Flyers on the ice. They outskated them, They outpassed them. They outshot them. The Boston Bruins just plain outplayed the Philadelphia Flyers on that Sunday afternoon in May of 1974.
The Bruins came at Parent in waves, they buzzed around his net, they fired pucks at him from all angles. Some wide open opportunitues, and some pucks through traffic. Through it all, Bernie Parent stood tall.
Highlights of Game 6, 1974 Stanley Cup Finals. Philadelphia 1 Boston 0.
The image that remains in this fan's memory, is one of kick saves, both with the skates and with the pads. It's a study in goaltending styles to watch video of Bernie Parent that day. He was a classic stand up goalie. It seemed the only times that his goalie pads touched the ice were when he went down to smother a puck that he had somehow managed to control. As a goalie style, it is in sharp contrast to what is seen today, no butterfly and scrambling for Bernie. It was mostly stand very square to the shooter, use your feet, and let the pads do the blocking.
The goal that Rick MacLeish scored deflecting a Moose Dupont shot from the blueline at the 14:48 mark of the first period, turned out to be all that the Flyers needed. Nothing got past Bernie Parent that day. "He was stupendous" declared Boston sniper Phil Esposito,
And so, Bernie Parent won his first Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP.
He would go on to win another the following season. This time, he also got a shutout in the clinching game, as the Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres to take their second consecutive, and last since, Stanley Cup. Bernie Parent became the first, and until Mario Lemieux did it in 1991 and 1992, the only player to have won two consecutive Conn Smythe Trophies.
In the seasons that followed, Bernie Parent struggled with injuries, his career ultimately ending following his taking a wayward stick in the right eye in a game against the New York Rangers in 1979.
While he didn't lose sight, the injury affected his ability to focus quickly, and his depth perception was adversely affected, making goaltending impossible and forcing his retirement as an NHL player.
It's as if the goaltending position has in some way always been either the key to the success, or the Achilles heel with the Philadelphia Flyers.
There have been some good goalies go through the Philly net over the years. Pete Peeters and Pelle Lindbergh come to mind. As does Ron Hextall. But there has only been one great goalie. For two marvelous seasons seasons in the mid-1970's, Bernie Parent was the best goaltender in the world, and it's not a coincidence, that the 1975 and 1975 Stanley Cups still stand as the only NHL championships in Philadelphia Flyers history.
Seeing Ilya Brzygalov, the free agent goalie who was signed by the Flyers to a 9 year, 51 million dollar pact, sitting on the bench as he watched, along with the 45 plus thousand fans, the NHL's Winter Classic. It's not a good sign when the biggest game of the year so far rolls into town and you bench 51 million bucks.
It was actually kind of a tough afternoon for the Flyers. In addition to losing 3-2 to the visiting New York Rangers, Jaromir Jagr missed the second and third periods. Looked as though he strained or pulled something. Although he's played very, very well for Philly thus far, he'll be 40 next month and who knows how long he can keep going.
If history is any guide, you can count the Flyers out as Stanley Cup champions for at least this year. Too bad for them they can't turn back the clock and bring Bernie back.
