Instead of my usual game preview, I will use this blog for something more important – a tribute of sorts to Tim Gleason who returns as a visitor after being traded on January 1.
Only 8 days after being traded, the NHL schedule finds Tim Gleason getting ready in the visitors’ locker room and taking the ice in a blue and white Maple Leafs jersey. That is going to be incredibly strange for Canes fans and his former teammates and surely for Tim Gleason as well.
Tim Gleason became a Carolina Hurricane on September 29, 2006. He arrived from LA in a trade for Jack Johnson who the Canes had taken #3 overall in the 2005 draft and could not come to terms with contract-wise despite multiple tries. At the time of the trade, the biggest news by far was that the Canes had jettisoned Johnson. And with Gleason only being about 100 games deep in his NHL career, playing all of that in the other conference and not being in the high-end elite category of young NHL players, he was more of a research project on trade day than an immediately quantified “cool, we got him.”
Gleason was only 22 years old and barely more than a full season into his NHL career when he arrived. Early on, one could see what the Canes liked about him, but he also looked very much like the young still developing defenseman that he was. It did not take long for the organization and fans to build a favorable impression of what he was made of. He was a big, physical rugged defenseman. He played the game the right way. And he was afraid of exactly no one. It was this character, courage and work ethic that had him gradually build a following among Canes fans who appreciated his blue collar, rough and tumble, throwback kind of style. You could have parachuted Tim Gleason right into the rougher days of 70s divisional bloodbath hockey and he would have easily held his own. And he had hockey ability to boot.
His best season as a Hurricane was probably the 2008-09 campaign which was the beginning of his best stretch of hockey during his time here. He and Joe Corvo seemed to fit together like a puzzle pieces that season and emerged to become an unlikely top D pairing that was good enough to help the team to the playoffs for the 1st time since the 2006 Stanley Cup run. They were also solid in the playoffs, and played a significant role in the team’s magical run that season that saw the Canes earn thrilling game 7 road wins in each of the 1st 2 rounds of the playoffs before being felled by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Arguably the greatest single highlight (my favorite anyway) of Gleason’s Carolina career occurred when he made a diving keep in at the blue line sweeping a rolling puck to Pitkanen who then fed Jokinen for the game-tying goal with less than a minute and a half remaining. Eric Staal then stunned the New Jersey crowd and Canes fans watching on TV less than a minute later by beating Brodeur off the rush from faceoff circle for a stunning series win. You can find video of that great finale
HERE. (He is Dennis Seidenberg in the initial broadcast call.) Gleason was solid defensively in both of the Canes series wins and notched a goal and 4 assists along the way. This season propelled his career. In the span of the next couple years, he became a regular top 4 for the Canes, won a silver medal playing for Team USA in the 2010 Olympics and was named an alternate captain for the Carolina Hurricanes.
As a stay-home defenseman, Gleason was never a score sheet type of player. Anyone who tries to measure his stay in Carolina by stats just does not get what he brought. If math is right, he came up just 9 games shy of 500 regular season games in a Canes uniform (so I guess we can say including the playoffs, he was north of 500 games). He scored exactly 100 points which is cool. Though his fighting had to decrease as his on-ice role increased, his fight card per hockeyfights.com clearly shows that he backed down to no one. His bouts over the years include a good number of legitimate NHL heavyweights including Todd Fedoruk, Gary Roberts, Jared Boll, Dan Carcillo, Milan Lucic (multiple), Brenden Morrow and Deryk Engelland.
I will remember Tim Gleason as a model of character, professionalism and courage. I am incredibly appreciative for all that he did wearing a Carolina Hurricanes uniform. Throughout his career, I was proud to say that Tim Gleason was on my hockey team. His contributions to good times in PNC Arena with the 2009 playoffs being top of the list will always be remembered.
Shame on The Raleigh News & Observer for not doing at least a mini tribute piece in the paper for Tim Gleason’s return today. And shame on anyone who attends tonight’s game who does not cheer and clap like a little kid who truly cares (not the polite adult applause) when given the chance to salute Tim Gleason. Given the short gap since the trade, I am not sure if the team will go full boar and do a short video tribute on a commercial break, but I am sure he will at least pop up in an opening lineup announcement, video screen shot or something. That is your cue. Show Tim the appreciation he deserves tonight.
I leave you with the highlight tribute that the Canes played for his Olympic sendoff in 2010 which you can find
HERE.
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I am not sure if I will be able to make time to put up a game preview this afternoon (figured this was more important).
Short version: Huge game tonight! With a win today, the Canes actually catch the Leafs (tie) for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. A win could also tie the Rangers for 3rd in the Metro Division (depending on result of Caps game). The playoff race is in full bloom. Every 2 points is precious.
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
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