Puck Talk
Puck Talk
-The 2004-05 NHL season is officially cancelled, correct? I only ask because these guys don’t seem to want to negotiate until the last minute and beyond. They spent basically the entire summer and fall posturing and didn’t make any real progress towards an agreement until deadline time. So it wouldn’t shock me to find out that in the time between when this is written and when it gets published that some kind of deal has been reached and we’re going to play a 15-game season. Whatever. It’s ridiculous that it’s even gone this far.
The question at this point, I suppose, is how much damage is this doing to the sport? Because eventually there will be hockey again. The NHL will be back. The Stanley Cup will be awarded again. I saw some idiot on ESPN last week talking about “when, if ever” there would be hockey again. Please. If ever? The sport isn’t going to vanish from the planet. Whether they come back next week, next October or next February, they are going to come back.
But the harm this is doing? I didn’t read the article myself but my dad was telling me about a story that was in the Globe last weekend about how the lockout is affecting businesses around the Fleet Center. Like Halftime Pizza, for example. Halftime Pizza normally sells about 150 pizzas before a Bruins game but these days they’re lucky to sell 15 pizzas before 7:00 and have been forced to close early most nights. Those are the people I feel bad for. The guy who’s scrambling to keep his business afloat. The ushers. The ticket-takers. Those are the people that are getting screwed the worst by all this.
The players? Well, I feel bad for some of the players. I feel bad for the guys in the lower levels of minor league that are losing their jobs as everyone trickles down trying to find a place to play. You know the NHLPA would be all up in arms if replacement players came in to take their jobs but it’s cool for them to go to Europe or Russia or a minor league team and take someone else’s job.
I don’t feel bad for these guys who’ve been making a couple million dollars a year to score 8 or 10 goals. I don’t feel bad for Marty Lapointe and Bobby Holik. I do feel bad for a guy like Steve Yzerman who might end up retiring before this thing gets resolved. Aside from Stevie Wonder, it could also mean the last we’ve seen of guys like Brett Hull, Dominik Hasek and Mario Lemiuex. So that kind of stinks.
The owners? I don’t feel bad for the owners. None of these guys got rich by owning an NHL franchise. These guys own NHL franchises because they’re rich. And anyway, these guys are just as much to blame for this whole mess as the players in my book. That’s one thing that drives me nuts. When one side or the other gets more or less credit or sympathy for the whole thing. Both sides are to blame. Both sides come out of this with a black eye. Bettman. Goodenow. There are no winners here.
Well, at any rate, I’m done talking about the NHL lockout. I’ve had enough. I still love hockey. I still think it’s a great game. I’ll be ready to watch when they come back. But until then, I’m done with it. Wake me when it’s over.
-Moving on to more positive things…let’s talk a little bit about the Beanpot. I wasn’t able to catch much of the first Monday night’s games because I had to coach that night but I was able to watch the entire final between BU and Northeastern. I’ve always had a lot of respect for BU but anytime Northeastern is in the final I’ve got to root for the Huskies. How can you not for those guys? They’re always the underdogs. They’re always overlooked. They’re probably never going to catch up to the other schools in terms of national prestige and accomplishment. Any time they find themselves in a Beanpot final it’s a chance for them to win something for all the little guys out there. So I was pulling for NU.
And, as an unofficial Huntington Hound for a day, I just have to say…We wuz robbed! BU was very fortunate to get of the building with a win. They had absolutely no business taking a 2-0 lead in that game. Northeastern dominated that game for stretches at a time. But that’s hockey I guess. Curry made some big stops. They took advantage of their chances and regulation and actually played better when NU pushed the game into OT. And then what can you say about Chris Bourque getting the winner in a rink where his father’s retired number hangs from the rafters? Not a bad deal there. The big thing about that goal, at least watching it on TV, was the split second between when the puck came off the side of the net into the slot and the time Bourque pounced on it. Because you could see the puck just hanging there. You could see the empty net. You just didn’t know who was getting there first. Then there was Bourque. Wango. Lights out.
So good game and congrats to Coach Parker and the Terriers on yet another Beanpot. Good fortune or not it’s amazing how they keep finding ways to win that tourney. Better luck next time for the Huskies. Next stop for everyone is the postseason. I can’t wait.
Questions? Comments? Please send feedback to Michael James at feedback@barstoolsports.com