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Follow @james_tanner123 Yesterday the NHL's Department of Player "Safety" suspended Dustin Byfuglien for a pathetic and laughable four games for attempting to murder J.T Miller with a cross-check to the neck.
At first I thought that someone didn't DVR John Oliver this week (where he lambasted the ridiculous practice of April Fools Day) but then it turns out this was a real decision. I don't even know what to say about this, really. The NHL got it not just wrong, but I think fifteen games or so wrong.
And speaking of April Fools, it really is dumb. I can't even tell you the amount of stupid article links I clicked on before I realized what day it was. Well, I am exaggerating. The amount is two...but I still feel pretty stupid about it.
And for the record, Alexander Radulov will not be joining the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Anyways, the Coyotes play the Sharks tonight, and I wish this was a joke too. Unfortunately, come 10 PM EST, I'll be watching it, even though I can barely hide the fact that I don't really want to.
I mean, I like watching just about any hockey game, but as the season winds down, it's getting harder and harder to actually care about the games of a last-place team. Can't wait for the Playoffs though, where I will be cheering for Montreal and hopefully also L.A and Ottawa.
For example of late season malaise, I didn't write about Monday's Buffalo/Arizona game because I fell asleep in the first period! It was terrifying when I woke up three hours later to some gravelly voiced crazy person yelling at me - turns out that when Centre Ice games end, the station plays talk radio - where we all know that yelling is the only form of communication.
So tonight..........what can I tell you about this game? Korpikoski is still injured.....we can only hope he's played his last game in a Coyotes uniform. Boedker won't play, but he's recovering nicely from his spleen-removal surgery and has been practicing this week.
There is the obligatory last place update, I guess: If the Coyotes lose to the Sharks and the Sabres beat the Blackhawks, they'll be tied. Although, Buffalo will retain the tie-breaker. I don't see how the Sabres can possibly win three in a row, but we'll see.
Should that happen, things will indeed get interesting, but you know, not that interesting. Personally, I'm making myself sick of the topic, but what exactly else do you write about these days for the Coyotes?
I could speculate on whether they'll bring Marc Arcobello back, but you know what? I don't really care if they do or not. He's been OK, but if they bring him back, that means another season of this.....and I do not want to witness this again.
I am perfectly happy with losing on the path to winning and I am excited about the young players in the organization, but I am hoping that a bunch of them play in the NHL next year. I want to see the team dress it's future and be excited about, rather than see them ice a team just to get through to the next draft.
Anyways, I didn't have to get up early today, so I should have no problems staying awake for tonight's game. The only question is: will I be the only one watching it?
Since the game is in San Jose, here's some Crue, written by the San Jose born (and all round respectable dude) Nikki Sixx.