Here are some random thoughts from the NHL for this week.
Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin was reportedly injured while playing in the World Championships.
First of all, I have no idea what motivates a young millionaire with a very short time off to devote his time to playing for his country in a meaningless international tournament.
Now, I know that the Worlds are slightly more revered in other countries that they are in Canada and the USA but it is still mind blowing that these guys still want to play more hockey after they are done for the year in the NHL.
I suppose its nice that a guy who has more money than he'll ever need still finds things other than money to motivate him, but the injury risk alone makes these decisions bizarre. I get why players like Morgan Rielly or Nazem Kadri - young players who need to establish themselves in the NHL - would jump at the chance, but a guy like Ovechkin.....the potential reward just doesn't seem worth the risk.
Not to mention, the Washington Capitals: the Olympics are one thing, but how do you allow a player who you pay $9 million/ year and who the entire success/profits of your operation are based on, to play in an international tournament like this? Seems like terrible asset management. Now, reports suggest he isn't as hurt as it seemed at the time, but let's say he suffered a career ending injury - something possible in every single hockey game - how in the hell do you explain that to your season ticket holders?
Carey Price
I am cheering for the Canadiens to beat the Rangers and play for their first Cup since 1993. Originally I was just cheering for them because they are the team I drew out of the hat in a playoff pool I am in where you pick a single team to go all the way, but then somewhere along the line I ended up falling in love with this team which is amazingly fun to watch.
Not only do they have Subban, Max P. and Price, all of whom are young and exciting to watch, but they also have Daniel Briere, who is a guy you can't help but cheer for and they beat the Bruins, which is even better.
So, being as that they are my adopted team, I was not happy to learn that Carey Price is done for the series and most likely the playoffs. What a heart-breaker to have your best player injured randomly right when you are on the verge of something special.
Montreal shouldn't be too upset though, since their team looks to be on the verge of joining the Chicago's and LA's among the NHL's Elite: Not only do they have the three aforementioned star players, but they have Alex Galchenyuk who I believe is on the verge of becoming a big time player as well. Once, A.G develops into the #1 centre he can be, the Canadiens are going to be a scary team.
As for Price and the rest of the team, I don't think things look good for them now. I watched the Leafs and Coyotes lose their playoffs this year when their star goalie went down, and while I don't think the Canadiens are as reliant on superb goaltending as those two teams, I think it's going to be tough to win without him.
That being said, they still have to play the games.
Sacred Cows
I never would have believed that the handshake that goes down at the end of a series was such a big deal. After writing about it on Friday I was inundated with questions about my mental competence, intelligence and other things unprintable. It blew my mind.
The handshake, despite what people say, is a convention that has long since lost it's meaning, and I woulda thought beforehand that people would agree. How wrong was I? It never occurred to me that this was such a touchy subject - you would have thought it was 1950 and I came out as a Communist!
In an ironic twist, the day after the Lucic controversy and the day in which I wrote about what I see as the fake respect of the handshake, Teemu Selanne played his last game and the post game celebration of his career was indeed very touching, as the Kings stayed on the ice and saluted him with some stick tapping and everyone skated up to him and said a few words.
To me, this display contrasted nicely with the obligatory showmanship of the regular handshake: it was impromptu, it was not something that happens all the time and as such, it had real meaning.
The difference - at least to my way of thinking - is that the handshake after every series is basically something that has to be done (and I contend that Lucic's actions during it were not unusual) while the Selanne post game celebration seemed more real - a genuine show of respect.
So, in answer to the most frequent question I have been posed in the last few days: Yes, I did find the Selanne touching, it was sentimental, yes, but it was real and I think that is the difference.
That being said, I don't really have a problem with the handshake - I just think it's a little unthinkingly revered - and certainly I don't want to convince you otherwise. There is more than one way to think about something.
The Chicago Blackhawks
They seem like they are unbeatable. I was watching them play yesterday and I thought - does Price's injury even matter? Is anyone going to come close to beating these guys?
I don't think so. Someone pointed out that they may be the first dynasty in the salary cap era, and I think that person may have been on to something.
However, there is just one reason why I bring this up. The other day I read something about how GM Stan Bowmen "inherited" this team and as such can't be considered one of the best GMs in hockey.
I disagree. Dale Tallon, if I am not mistaken, left the Hawks in salary cap hell - Huet, Campbell - and if I am remembering correctly, he was fired for wasting cap space by screwing up qualifying offers.
Enter Bowman, who fixes everything, unloads the worst of the contracts and manages to build a team that is still a contender despite losing Byfuglien and Ladd and a ton of other high quality bit-players like Burrish, Boland, Versteeg (since re-acquired) and the aforementioned Campbell.
Seems to me the guy is a genius. Especially when you compare him to teams like Washington (Backstrom, Ovechking) and Pittsburgh (Staal, Crosby, Malkin) who were gifted a bunch of high-end draft presents and failed to surround them with enough complimentary players to succeed every, single, year.
As always, thanks for reading.
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