Through the years, professional sports executives have played the role of Scrooge occasionally at Christmas time.
The NBA’s Houston Rockets once cut Jeremy Lin on Christmas Day. NHL goalie Greg Millen was traded twice around Christmas. The St. Louis Blues moved Millen to the Quebec Nordiques on Dec. 13, 1989 and Quebec executives came to Millen’s house and passed out pajamas with the Nordiques logo to his children to help persuade him to report.
Two years later, the New York Rangers dealt Millen to the Detroit Red Wings on Dec.26.
Merry Christmas, Greg.
Today, sports leagues have roster freezes to protect players.
The NHL is in one now, making it the perfect time to hand out gifts. Here is what I'm giving this season:
To the New York Islanders: 33 electrifying goals, two veteran defensemen and a partridge in a pear tree. The 33 goals should move them from being one of the NHL's worst scoring teams to being an average scoring team. The veteran defensemen could help them play Barry Trotz defense again and the partridge is just to see the look on on Lou Lamoriello's face.
To Paul Maurice: Peace on earth, or at least peace in his life. He's not the first coach ever to become burned out by a team or a few guys on that team. But Paul is one of the very few who took matters into his own hands and gave someone else a chance to see if he could do better. Nothing but admiration for Maurice for this classy move.
To the NHL: A COVID-free month, or at least a COVID-free couple of weeks. NHL and NHLPA executives would love to do what's best in this situation, but nobody on the earth knows what that is. Owners, players and fans are frustrated beyond belief by the stops and starts, and the struggle, to keep players healthy. This isn't hockey anymore. It's roster roulette. A couple of weeks of no COVID would help.
To Marc-Andre Fleury: A two-month long subscription to the NHL playoffs as a starting goalie Would love to see Fleury agree to a trade that would put him with a contender such as Colorado or Edmonton. He's such a quality person that I think the general NHL fan would love to see him get another Cup run.
To the Tampa Bay Lightning: A noteworthy level right-shot defenseman What do you give to a team that has everything ? Certainly, I understand that the Lightning aren't the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. But when you watch them play, they look they have a shot at winning a third consecutive Stanley Cup. They probably have the league's best/deepest left side on defense. We'll give them some help on the right side to freshen things up.
To the Buffalo Sabres: The lucky lottery ball. Buffalo is a caring fan base and they are enduring their 11th season out of the NHL playoffs. They haven't won a playoff series in 15 years. If they could get Shane Wright, it would perhaps expedite their latest rebuild. If Wright was available last summer, he would have been the No. 1 pick in draft as well. This is a team that deserves a break.