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: After losing their fifth game in a row last night, the Coyotes are only three points back of the Oilers and only nine back of the Sabres. I don't think the Sabres are reachable, but the Oilers have been superior to the Coyotes all season, at least, in all games where the teams aren't facing each other.
Should the Coyotes meet expectations and move out many of their best players, they will only get worse. It is starting to look realistically like the Coyotes can finish 29th and be guaranteed, at worst, the third overall pick.
By the way, for a good game review of last night's competitive and - considering the circumstances - all-round decent game, be sure to read Michael Stuart's Lightning blog today.
MINUS:Sidney Crosby fighting. I know the age of the enforcer is coming to an end and that analytically, there is almost no defensible reason to dress a player whose only role is to fight, but that doesn't mean you can't find guys who can be effective in other roles and also fight. Someone on that team needs to get in there and prevent Crosby from fighting.
The Penguins have only won a single Cup despite having two of the League's best player for nearly a decade, and the main reason for that is injuries. A healthy Crosby goes a long way in making them one of the NHL's most dangerous teams, but an injured Crosby gives them almost no chance of coming out of the East, so it goes without saying that it's idiotic for Crosby to fight, given his history of concussions.
That doesn't mean I don't think it's cool that he's willing to do that, but the cost/benefit analysis in this situation is terrible.
MINUS: I love the trade deadline - after the Playoffs and the regular season, and the draft, it's my favorite day - ranking ahead of the awards show, the pre-season and the All-Star game.
Basically, it's OK but I realize the hype is berserk and that seeing twenty role players traded for draft picks is always a letdown.
Still, while I do enjoy it, it gets to be a little much - maybe its just Toronto, but a guy can only take so many Daniel Winnik discussions before it gets to all be a bit silly. Seriously, Winnik is a decent third or fourth line option for any team, and he's bound to bring back more than he's probably worth at this time of the year, but I honestly don't need wall-to-wall coverage of fourth liners who might be on the move.
MINUS: Here's why I love Eklund and am proud to work for this site: the "real" insiders take themselves too damn seriously. Why does Dreger or whoever need to take a dump on everything potentially interesting so that we can have coverage that purports to approach the realism of Ulysses?
What I'm saying here is that sure, maybe there's only a 4% chance Kessel or Yandle gets moved before the deadline, but wouldn't it be interesting to talk about it? Instead, we get cold water thrown on unlikely but potentially interesting moves and talk insistently about Winnik.
To me - and maybe I'm wrong - but sports is entertainment and I think that's the problem with HNIC and most other broadcasts: they forget they aren't serious, important news based broadcasters. They need to stop having four old white guys yelling at each other and instead offer up a little something called FUN. Hiring a comedian to host and having a few writers on staff would be a good start for any network looking to differentiate their broadcasts from paint drying.
MINUS: The ever-growing tendency of people to only engage with things that tell them what they want to hear. You know what's as necessary to a healthy life as eating fruit, sleeping eight hours per night and getting regular exercise? Listening and reading to things that you totally disagree with.
I don't know when it became OK for people to just lock themselves in an echo chamber where they only hear the things they want to, but it shouldn't be. I think you should probably accept the science of Global Warming and vaccinate your kids, but you don't need a degree in psychology to know that education and patience is the path to getting more people on your side, not dismissing anyone who thinks differently than you as an idiot.
I myself am guilty of this kind of action all the time, but I'm learning as I go and trying to do better. I am reminded of a quote from the first episode of HBO's the Newsroom (an excellent show that everyone should watch) where Jeff Daniels says "If Liberals are so ___ smart, how come they always lose?'
The answer should be obvious to anyone: people hate smug condescending jerks more than they hate being wrong. Since I have a forum and can say this to at least nine people: be nicer to people who disagree with you.
PLUS: Team Young Money is making a comeback in the hockey pool. We've got our sights set on fourth baby! After dismantling my team and trading or releasing 10 of 16 players over a 24 hour period, Young Money is hotter than a Brian Burke press conference.
Who makes stupid trade now, jerks? (Note: that last line is just for the eleven other guys in my pool.)
MINUS: Not enough is being made of Kris Letang's comeback season. After having a stroke last year, the guy is back and proving his detractors that offense really is the best defense when it comes to being an NHL defenseman. It's true I also like him better because his long-hair makes him look so bad-ass out there, or at least used to, but he's also really fun to watch.
He should win the Norris Trophy this year if he's even in the conversation, which he is.
Check out these highlights from his five point game back on January 27th.
Seriously, the only thing it was missing was a retiring police officer getting shot on his last day on the job.
Doesn't matter though: the movie is so funny and well acted and interesting and heart-warming that it survives the presence of every trope and cliche the writers could come up with, and manages to be the most enjoyable movie I've seen in a long time.
Had this movie been described to me before-hand, I would have made fun of it and never watched it, but I am glad I did because it was excellent.
MINUS: The Olympics. Apropos of nothing, I just want to take this moment to say I hate the stupid Olympics and their corrupt organization and their pretending that the biathlon is a sport.
PLUS: Beach House. They are a band, from Baltimore, I think. They feature one guy and one girl and they have made two of my favorite records of all time. I am listening to them now and can't possibly recommend them enough.
MINUS: I got bacon, I got eggs, I got toast, I got tunes and I am hungry, but man oh man, there ain't a potato in the house.
Anyways, thanks for reading.