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Thanks for All the Fish, HockeyBuzz

August 17, 2015, 5:28 PM ET [124 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
All good things must come to an end, right? I can honestly say that my time writing here at HockeyBuzz has been the greatest of things.

In short, this will be my final blog. No, I’m not leaving HockeyBuzz for another site. No, I’m not planning to pursue a writing career elsewhere. The simple truth is that I’m starting a new job in an unrelated field, and I just can’t commit to producing the quantity and quality of content that this site and its readers deserve.

For almost three years now, I’ve had the privilege of writing for one of the largest and most diverse hockey communities on the internet. Interacting with frequent readers and casual readers has made me both a more knowledgeable hockey fan and a better writer. The magic of this site turned a guy from Edmonton into a widely read Lightning writer. There is truly nowhere like HockeyBuzz.

With that in mind, I’d like to thank Eklund and the site’s management team. During the 2012 lockout, they took a chance on a young guy from Alberta. That decision certainly came with an element of risk. Could they really expect a university student from Canada’s prairies to succeed as a Tampa writer? I like to think I held up my end of the bargain, but that’s not for me to judge.

Secondly, I’d like to mention some of the incredibly talented writers who challenged and inspired me every day. Reading, working alongside, and talking with writers like Adam French, Tim Chiasson, Matt Henderson, Ty Anderson, Peter Tessier, Ryan Wilson, Carol Schram, Jason Lewis, JJ, Jan Levine, Todd Cordell, Tony Dean, James Tanner, and others made this the best gig on the internet. I learned so much from these people. Reading their work introduced me to new concepts, new ideas, new points of view, and new writing techniques. They’re all phenomenally talented at what they do, and I look forward to continuing my avid readership.

And, lastly, I have to thank my readers. Whether this is your first time reading one of my blogs or your thousandth time, thank you. When I started here, there was a small contingent of loyal Tampa fans that posted on my blogs. Fast-forward three years, and dozens of fans with ‘Tampa Bay Lightning’ tagged right on their profile stop by to chat daily. That’s a testament to some of the great discussion we’ve helped to generate as a group over the last three years. I wrote the blogs, but it’s you who kept the conversation going. Thank you so, so much for that.

That conversation might be over here at HockeyBuzz, but it’s not like I’m falling off the face of the planet. I’ll still be around, ranting about the Lightning, on Twitter during the season and whenever news breaks. I won’t have time to write big blogs on a regular basis, but I’ll certainly have time to make my opinions heard in 140 characters or less. I hope you’ll continue to follow along.

And, for the last time, thanks for reading.

Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.
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