Follow @james_tanner123 Since +/- is the NHL's worst stat, I thought it would make sense to appropriate it and make it useful as we review the best and worst of the past week in the NHL.
PLUS: The Christmas Season.
I hate malls, I hate shopping, I feel awkward when people buy me presents, I generally disapprove of the commercial nature of it, I literally cannot watch the frigging Grinch again, I don't care for caroling (actively hate it actually), I hate turkey, I am not religious and it's expensive as hell: but I love Christmas.
Maybe it's all the time off work, the general niceness of people at this time of year, or, perhaps, there really is some magic that does exist in this world. I don't really care to figure it out, to be honest. I just really like Christmas (perhaps it's all the new CDs?). It's especially fun when you have little kids.
So, Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading my stuff, I appreciate it. And if anyone tells you there is a better Christmas song than this, don't listen to them - they can't be trusted.
Coyotes 1, Islanders 0. Congrats to Louis Domingue for his first NHL shutout.
PLUS: The return of Martin Hanzal. People who don't watch the Coyotes a lot might not know how good he is, but when the rest of the team doesn't have single quality centre capable of playing above the fourth line, he is easily the Coyotes most valuable player.
His return to the lineup coincided with a few additions by subtraction. No one likes players to be injured, however, there is no denying that the Coyotes are a better team with Doan, Michalek, Smith and Lindback unable to play.
MINUS: What the hell are the Blackhawks thinking trading Trevor Daley for Rob Scuderi? I mean, I guess it was nice to finally see a trade in the NHL, but that was a pretty awful move.
PLUS: Seeing Bernier shut-out the probable-best-team-in-the-NHL Los Angeles Kings after being banished to the minors for four games.
PLUS: Here is the second best Christmas song ever. Co-written by Jesus himself (one assumes. How else could it be so good?)
MINUS: Year in review anything.
MINUS: People who say Happy Holidays.
PLUS: My pal and former Hockeybuzz writer Michael Stuart - came out of retirement to write this review of Star Wars for me, cause I ain't going anywhere near a theater and why pay ten bucks to see a Wookie when I can just go visit my brother's wife?
"Star Wars Episode VII. Man, what a ride. Without giving away much of anything, I’ll just say that I thought this movie hit all the right notes. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and this was everything I hoped it would be. The new characters were great. Seeing ‘old friends’ was super neat. The action scenes were on point. And there were even a few surprises that left me with my jaw on the floor.
The Force Awakens will break all sorts of records, and rightfully so. It’s got everything you loved about A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back,and Return of the Jedi wrapped up into a single two-hour adventure. Are there some things I didn’t like? Absolutely. But, on the whole, I walked out of the movie theatre wanting to see Episode VIII immediately. May 2017 can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, just make sure you go see this one."
Thanks Mike.
PLUS: Coming in at #3 on our best Christmas Songs Ever list is this badboy, whose line about "a ill reindeer" is among the best lyrics ever written.
Fact is, a third round pick in 1989 turning into one of the best players of all-time had more to do with twenty years of success than anything else. Then, getting Datsyk and Zetterberg in the sixth and seventh rounds ensured that success would continue.
There is a lot of evidence that suggest it's better to bring star players up sooner, and copying the luckiest team in NHL history just isn't a good enough reason to artificially keep deserving players out of the NHL. (Plus the reasoning is B.S anyways - it's all about the salary cap and player retention).
Either way it's ridiculous that Mitch Marner, Dylan Strome and William Nylander are not in the NHL. They would all be in the NHL ten years ago, even five years ago probably, and they should be today.
PLUS: Very rarely are things that are unanimous also true, but as someone who's main hobby is the consumption of music, I can say without reservations that the album To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar is easily the best record of the year. Hell, it's probably the best record anyone put out in ten years.
I don't think there's any songs I can post here, but it's worth checking out if you don't have it already.
Merry Christmas.
Thanks for reading.