Chris Golden

He Said, She Said: Torres Hits and Ballard’s Hips

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May 242011
 

[About the game from two viewpoints. Chris and Caylie watch the game and exchange their thoughts via email.]

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 12:08

Hey Caylie,

So here we have ourselves a noon start. Any word on the status of Luongo’s groin?

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 12:15

Hi Chris,

I’m just hoping the Canucks are more awake and lively than probably the majority of us fans. If we stick to the game plan by not taking penalties and being aggressive, I predict the Canucks win, including an empty-netter.

Go Canucks Go!

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 12:36

Hey Caylie,

Yes, more 5-on-5 hockey will be good for the Canucks. Mind you, if we see penalty kill efforts like that first one…

Again, it’s still early but I’m feeling good about this game. The boys are generating chances and are aggressively forechecking – it’s just a matter of time that the Sharks blueline hiccups.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 12:41

Hi Chris,

Drumroll please…… And the Oscar goes to…… Joe Thornton. He wins this award because he has consistently showed his acting abilities throughout these playoffs. Well deserved. *slow clap*

Caylie

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 13:01

Hi Chris,

There are not enough explicit words in the human language that would express how I feel about that Raffi hit. That was an excellent hit and hockey play. Murray had the puck with his head down – what do the refs expect us to do?! The Canucks might as well stop hitting, stop trying to get the puck because they will spend the rest of the game on the penalty kill. Unbelievable.

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 13:15

Hey Caylie,

So you’re not happy with the call on Torres, eh? I don’t know. After seeing the replay I’m wondering if he’s not lucky to get the heave-ho for a hit to the head. The rule is so poorly written that if point of contact is the head, you get tossed.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 14:57

Hi Chris,

This was the best showing of maturity the Canucks have shown all season long. After getting called for 5 penalties in a row, the Canucks didn’t give up and scored when it count. We won the special teams battle by a mile. Balls of Steel with his best game of the 2011 playoffs and big goals from Kes and Burrows. I was very impressed by the composure we showed!

Raffi Torres with a CLEAN hit on Murray and then he put Big Joe out for the rest of the game, his best game so far. Great to see him bring the intensity and use his body to destroy what came into his path.

We are 5 wins away!

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 16:21

Hey Caylie,

Last season I would’ve agreed that the Torres hit was legal, but as my post earlier in the season says, many legal hits have been made illegal when contact to head is involved.

And yes oh yes – huge step up in the maturity department from the entire Canucks team! Not only did we see ‘em kill those earlier penalties off, we saw the squad adjust to the Sharks PK and get those goals when it was our turn on the powerplay in the second!

Then there was the play of the Sedins in the 3rd. They had a couple dominant shifts to burn crucial minutes from the clock and helped setup Burr on the fourth goal. Think it’s about time people give these guys his due.

C.

PS: As I asked on Twitter, does Ballard have to declare his hips as weapons when he comes back into Canada?

He Said, She Said: Slow Starts and Bad Decisions

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May 212011
 

[About the game from two viewpoints. Chris and Caylie watch the game and exchange their thoughts via email.]

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:23

Hey Caylie,

So… how about that first goal?

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:26

Hi Chris,

That was bad defensive coverage from Ehrhoff on that goal there. But that was an undisciplined penalty from Lapierre there. It’s one thing to be aggressive and another thing to not control a hit. Here we go again, a 4 minute penalty kill coming up. Canucks are 0 for 4 on the PK, hoping we can figure it out here. NOW!

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:30

Hey Caylie,

So… how about that second goal?

And I noticed Sharks fans had a picture of David Hasselhoff against the glass with Ehrhoff in the box. Creative, though not the two we normally see or have seen.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:31

Hi Chris,

Did we just go back in time? It’s feeling a lot like Round 1 of last year’s playoffs.

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:36

Hi Caylie,

If this was the series against the Kings, the Sharks would’ve scored two goals on that last PP opportunity.

And I think it’s safe to say the Sharks found their game when they got home. Stuff like that happens to me when I travel all the time.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:40

Hi Chris,

The Sharks do seem to have found their game, but the Canucks aren’t helping their own cause. Too many sloppy clearances, being out worked along the boards and in puck battles in general, and sweet baby Jesus… 1 shot in the period so far? Niemi could be napping right now and we wouldn’t know it.

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 18:49

Hey Caylie,

So are you saying we need shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots?

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 19:01

Hi Chris,

I think everyone in that dressing room needs to take a shot of that Cheetah Power Surge. Here’s to hoping they decide to show some heart and want in the second period. I still believe! We need to get back to our game, back to the basics and hopefully we can get a powerplay to get the Sedin’s going.

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 19:28

Hey Caylie,

I wonder if this loss of effort by the Canucks is a customs thing? It would explain why the Sharks lacked effort in Games 1 & 2 and why the Canucks lack it tonight.

And when did the Canucks become an undisciplined team? Even if it’s not a penalty, we’re playing an undisciplined system – we just saw a 2 on 0 breakaway given up.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 19:33

Hi Chris,

The Canucks are taking penalties because they are making poor decisions. Bad pinches lead to 2-on-1′s, bad clearances lead to dominance along the boards and laziness led to a dumb cross-check from Bieksa. The Canucks are beating themselves. We NEED a powerplay goal here.

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 19:51

Hey Caylie,

So no powerplay goal. On that 2 man advantage. Or the next one either. Niemi and the Sharks PK looked solid. Or the Canucks PP looked horrible. Something like that. We still have a period to go, but I haven’t seen anything from the Canucks to think we’ll comeback.

And I’m normally positive to the final whistle.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 19:56

Hi Chris,

Bottom line is if we can’t score on TWO 5-on-3′s we cannot expect to get back into the game. I give major props to Niemi who has bounced back from a dreadful game 2. He has been the Sharks best player, hands down. The Canucks looked timid on all their powerplays. One would think if Salo’s one timer didn’t work the first 4 times, you would switch up the game plan.

The only positive I can take out of the 2nd period is that the Sharks didn’t score again. We are in a huge hole, it’ll take a miracle to get back into this game. But hey if the Sharks can score 3 goals in a period, so can the Canucks. Right? RIGHT?! *Sigh*

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 20:57

Hey Caylie,

I think I’ve finally figured it out. With the nice weather, the Canucks shipped their compete mode down by bike – that’s why it arrived in the 3rd period. I’m still not sold on the the Canucks powerplay (though they did score a couple on the major) and can’t figure out where the penalty kill is. I’ll check under my bed when I get home.

That all said, I’m not completely demoralized and think we’ll see a better squad on Sunday. And let’s be real, who would’ve guessed the Canucks could sweep the Sharks – definitely not me. I’m thinking in 5.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 21:08

Hi Chris,

While I am happy with the effort the Canucks brought in the 3rd period, it still concerns me how they came out so poorly and completely got away from their game. In the end we cannot expect to play 20 mins, give up 10 poewrplays (albeit, some of those penalty calls were atrocious) and not be effective on two 5-on-3′s. That being said we can take a lot of positives out of that 3rd period push. Hopefully the early start on Sunday won’t throw us off.

Now if the NHL does not take disciplinary action on that McGinn hit on Rome I will be outraged. That was a careless and dangerous play. I hope Rome is okay, but he looked very groggy after the hit. Also, I hope Ehrhoff’s injury isn’t too serious, but shoulder injuries are always tricky.

I expect a much better and more complete game from the Canucks in game 4. If we win, I think we will take the series at home.

Caylie

He Said, She Said: No Worries

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May 192011
 

[About the game from two viewpoints. Chris and Caylie watch the game and exchange their thoughts via email.]

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 18:09

Hey Caylie,

So here we are minutes before puck drop of Game 2 between the Canucks and Sharks. Any predictions to what we’ll witness? I’m banking on another aggressive forecheck from the Canucks – or at least a win seeing as Tambellini has found his way into the lineup.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 18:29

Hi Chris,

Well, after a good starting shift from the Sedins, that powerplay for the Sharks didn’t end up the way we wanted. They seemed to carry momentum after that goal from Couture. We really started getting more chances on the 4-on-4 play for a bit.

Here we go our first PP. Let’s hope we see some magic.

Caylie

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 18:37

Hi Chris,

Now THAT was the magic I was talking about. What a huge goal by Danny and a dominating shift from our 3rd line. I love to see Torres and his orange beard lighting up the jumbotron!

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 18:39

Hey Caylie,

I can’t say that was the most effective powerplay I’ve seen from the Canucks, but it worked regardless.

For some reason, and maybe it’s the bias in me, but I wasn’t worried when Couture scored the first goal. It just seems to me that the Canucks look focused. They are playing aggressive, making smart decisions, and dictating the flow of the game.

Oh wow! Look at that – the third line just dictated a 2-1 lead!

C.

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 18:53

Hey Caylie,

Should I be worried? I just noticed that there’s a picture of the Canucks penalty-kill on my carton of milk. When did it go missing? And why did Daniel have to sit in the box? If anything, the San Jose Sharks trainer should have received 2 minutes for “poor skate sharpening” – Heatley is lucky he didn’t hurt himself when he lost that edge.

But back to my earlier statement, this Marleau goal doesn’t worry me either. True the game is tied 2-2 late in the first, but the Canucks are back to carrying the play. We’re seeing the Canucks third line impose themselves against whichever line/players/paper mache cutouts that McLellan sees fit sending on to the ice, the second line is still playing well, and the Sedins seem to be healthy.. err.. back on their game again.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 19:21

Hi Chris,

Those two penalty kills gave me flashbacks of the LA series last year. It does not make me feel good.

The third line has been our best line. Hands down. They play every shift with determination and want. It’s awesome to see.

I agree with you, I’m not too worried with this tied game. Canucks have been dictating most of the play and getting quality shifts.

Caylie

PS: Does your heart skip a beat everytime Luongo touches the puck behind the net? My heart muscle is working double time.

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 19:42

Hey Caylie,

You know epic that Bieksa breakaway goal was? So epic that Steve Nash spilled beer all over himself.

Maybe the Sharks left their game at the border, but this hasn’t quite been the series I had expected from them. True, we’re only a game and a couple periods in, but I wouldn’t have ever guess the Canucks could be so dominant. Wonder what we’ll see down in San Jose on Friday – guess it’ll depend on what the final result tonight happens to be.

Luongo handles the puck? I don’t remember. All my memories of Luongo puckhandling have been blacked out. Odd.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 19:59

Hi Chris,

I love how Bieksa looked so shocked at that beauty of a goal. Another thing, Patrick Marleau are you kidding me? KB3 got a good boxing workout on his face.

I felt like the Sharks forgot to come out for the 2nd period. I’m with you, their play has been very “underwhelming”. Although we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, if the Canucks keep playing like they do, the Sharks will have no answer.

Also, doesn’t Kyle Wellwood play for the Sharks?

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 20:21

Hey Caylie,

Kyle Wellwood? I heard he did. Haven’t seen much of him. Maybe he’s poolside soaking up the rays? It was a really nice day in town.

And sorry for not getting back to you. My Mom always told me not to send an email when upset and after seeing that hit Eager threw on Dank, your spam filter may have stopped my reply from coming through after detecting all the foul language I would have used in it. I just don’t understand how that hit only garnered a two minute minor. After all the jumping around on the bench after the Bieksa/Marleau scrap, you knew he was going to look to get “even” the next chance he got. And how much more vulnerable did Danny need to be? Sheesh.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 22:28

Hi Chris,

I’m interested to see if Eager will get any more disciplinary action. But we all know how Colin Campbell and the NHL works, they will probably give him a spanking and that’s about it.

That game was pure domination on all ends of the ice. The Canucks had a great game but the Sharks didn’t give them much to play against. The bottom line is, if Aaron Rome is scoring a goal you KNOW something just isn’t right.

It was great to be in Rogers Arena celebrating goal after goal after goal. The atmosphere was great and it was so awesome to see so many different scorers and to see all lines being effective. Once again I give huge props to the third line for another stellar game.

It should be an interesting 2 games at the Tank. I’m still waiting to see the big bad Sharks with all their “upside”. But if they decide not to show that side, I’m good with that.

Caylie

He Said, She Said: Bad Giveaways and Bouncing Back

 Blog  5 Responses »
May 162011
 

[About the game from two viewpoints. Chris Golden and Caylie King watch the game and exchange their thoughts via email.]

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 18:03

Hey Caylie,

If I ever throw a party, can you remind me to have Luongo host it for me? The guy seems like not only a solid draw, but a great host too. I mean, who else would give away the good china to someone who already has plenty of his own?

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 18:11

Hi Chris,

Is there an NHL award for most giving? If not, it can be named the Roberto Luongo award and he would be the no. 1 contender each year running.

Caylie

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 18:18

After that goal from Lappy, looks like Niemi is aspiring to be like Bobby Luo with that bad clearing attempt.

Bad clearances: 2 / Luongo & Niemi: 0

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 18:49

Hey Caylie,

So now that we’re even on easy goals, it saddens me that the Sharks scored that PPG. I thought the only way to score on Louie was behind the goalline. Oh well.

I have to say I’m impressed with the effort we saw from the Canucks late in the second. Too bad we couldn’t punch that one in on the goal line – I heard the Bengals have scouts in the rink tonight.

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 19:02

Hi Chris,

Before the series started there was a consensus amongst analysts that special teams would decide the series. After two periods the Canucks are definitely losing that battle. Going 0-for-3 without any quality chances, the Sharks had no trouble setting up and scoring on their first try.

I agree with you, the last 5 minutes of the second period showed a lot of positives. The Canucks were winning puck battles, cycling the puck and getting shots on net. Now all we need to do is put that little black round thing in the big net.

Caylie

From: Christopher Golden
To: Caylie King
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 20:59

Hey Caylie,

Wow – after watching the first half of the game, I would have never thought the Canucks could exert that much force on the Sharks. At times, it was if the home squad was playing a beer league team from SoCal – I’m not saying the Sharks are a beer league team, but dang they got run over!

And how about Henrik. True his goal came during a powerplay, but think this will help deflect some of this “sister” chatter we’ve heard lately?

C.

From: Caylie King
To: Christopher Golden
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 21:25

Hi Chris,

I couldn’t agree more. The first 20 minutes, the Canucks looked like a team coming off a long break. I found the first to be very choppy, without much flow.

After going down by 1 in the second I was extremely impressed by the response from the boys. They really applied the pressure with a tough forecheck and good work along the boards.

I was extremely impressed by the 3rd line. I thought they played solid minutes and spent the majority of their time in the Sharks zone. AV also showed a lot of confidence in them, using them in the last few minutes in the game.

It was great to see Henrik get a goal but even better to see it on the powerplay. After a few mediocre PP’s in the first 2 periods, it was good to see the first unit capitalize.

I expect a big series from the first line. I think we saw big signs of great things to come. They seemed to have drive and purpose on the majority of their shifts and it was great to see their cycling game back in action.

Huge comeback win! It was awesome to see the Canucks turn the intensity up a notch and take it to the BIG Sharks. Can’t wait for game 2!

Caylie

NHLPA Beard-a-thon: Rocking my Playoff Beard for the Heart and Stroke Foundation

 Blog  1 Response »
Apr 222011
 

For the past few seasons, I’ve rocked a playoff beard to show my die-hard support of the Vancouver Canucks (and so have many others – take a look at our Playoff Beard Challenge). So after seeing a post from Derek Jory on canucks.com about the NHLPA Beard-a-thon, I figured that not only should I be rocking the facial hair for my team, but the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada as well:

NHLPA Beard-a-thon donations will go towards the placement of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in hockey rinks, schools and community centres in provinces across Canada. Heart and Stroke Foundation’s goal is to make Canada the most cardiac safe country in the world.

So how can you help this great cause out?

The first way would be to sign-up yourself, sport a beard, and solicit donations.

The second (and I’d like to think easier way), is to support someone such as myself who happens to already be setup to rock the beard and raise the cash. If you want to help out, head to my profile here and pledge anything you can!

And because I’m the competitive type, I’ve decided to take on Derek Jory to see who can raise the most money for this deserving cause.

Spread the word!

Rock the Johnny Canuck, Win a Canucks Team-Signed Stick

 Blog  4 Responses »
Apr 132011
 

Hopefully by now, you’ve heard about our little Canucks Playoff Beard Challenge. Simply supporting the team by showing off your best looking playoff beard can get you a shot at winning a $25 gift card to the Hurricane Grill.

But also, we here at Canucks Hockey Blog wanted to celebrate the start of this long playoff run with a kick-off contest so we reached out to our friends from the Vancouver Canucks organization and discovered they had a team-signed Canucks stick available for us to give away to one lucky CHB reader. To ensure that everyone has an opportunity to get in on this stick, we thought we’d put a slightly-different spin on the playoff beard challenge – that is, we want to encourage everyone to rock one Johnny Canuck style.

Johnny Canuck, Vancouver Canucks

Now, you might be thinking that it will be tough to rock a beard and this is true as a good quality beard takes time. But we have that one covered for you too: you can rock a real beard, a Canucks playoff beard available from the Team Store (retail: $9.99), or heck, if you want to save yourself some cash and have good cut and paste skills, black construction paper works just as well.

So how do you enter?

First, take a picture of yourself rocking the beard (real or fake) in a Johnny Canuck pose, and then:

  • Upload the picture to our Flickr group. (1 entry)
  • Link the photo in the comments section of this post. (1 entry)

For a bonus entry, tweet the following message:

Rock a beard and RT to win a #Canucks team-signed stick from @lyteforce @canuckshockey @VanCanucks http://bit.ly/gqcstP

Simple, huh?

The contest will officially close at 11:59am PST on April 19th. Shortly after that, we’ll draw a winner for the Canucks team-signed stick.

We’ve decided to extend this contest. You now have until 11:59 PM PST on Tuesday, April 26th to get in your entries. We’ll announce the winner on the morning of April 27th.

[Update: Some of the entries so far]

The Canucks 2011 Playoff Beard Challenge

 Blog  19 Responses »
Apr 062011
 

If there’s one thing we here at Canucks Hockey Blog can’t get enough of, it’s a little friendly competition. So in the spirit of things, we’re throwing down the gauntlet for the Canucks 2011 Playoff Beard Challenge.

Although the playoff beard itself has a storied and cherished past, and many have gone on to grow them to sasquatch-ian proportions, a few of us thought it would be better served if some order was brought to the madness. Last season, we had a number of participants step up such as myself (check out the mug below), Derek Jory (best known as the guy behind @canucksgame and a staff writer for the Vancouver Canucks, and many others – do you want to be that one person who doesn’t join in on the debauchery this season?

Canucks 2010 Playoff Beard - Chris - Day 29

To participate, simply take a picture of your beard from Day 1 through to the end of the Canucks playoff run and share it with the world. How to share you ask? Well, you can do one of the following:

And what would a challenge be without rules?

The Rules of the 2011 Canucks Playoff Beard Challenge:

  1. You don’t talk about Beard Club.. err.. the Challenge.
  2. You don’t talk about Beard Club.
  3. If you can’t do the beard, commit to something and stick to it (special ritual, personal habit, etc.). We here at the Challenge do not discriminate against those who can’t/don’t/won’t grow facial hair.
  4. Once you’re in, you’re in. Unless you’re not. We’re not that hardcore. But keep in mind the idea of a playoff challenge is to keep it going – and Lord knows we’ll make you feel shame should something untoward happen to the Canucks in the post-season AFTER you quit.
  5. The wishes of your significant other do not trump Beard Club. In fact, you should encourage him/her/it to heed the call to challenge and join up.

The Reward

At the end of the Canucks’ playoffs run – hopefully ending in a parade down Georgia St. – we’ll be giving away a $25 gift certificate to The Hurricane Grill to one random participant.

If you post your playoff beard photos on the official Flickr Group, you’re automatically entered in the draw.

If you post them on your Daily Booth, Twitter, MySpace, blog, etc., and want to enter the draw, we ask that you simply enter the link to your photo in the comments section of this post. (We’re not mind readers and won’t know where to look for your entry otherwise.)

So are you in?

[update: Because a few people asked, last shave is on Wednesday morning.]

Canucks for Kids Telethon: A Blogger’s Challenge

 Blog  6 Responses »
Mar 162011
 

During the Canucks for Kids telethon last year, a bunch of us Canucks bloggers pledged to donate to the cause for every new Twitter follower we received that night.

With this year’s Canucks for Kids telethon going on tonight, Brian from Canucks Corner laid down the gauntlet again and challenged all Canucks bloggers to donate 10 cents for every new Twitter follower.

In the famous words of Barney Stinson, “Challenge Accepted!”

On behalf of CHB, I, Christopher Golden aka @lyteforce, pledge to donate 10 cents for every new Twitter follower I get between puck drop and game end. I have 1,132 followers at the moment; I’ll tweet an exact count just prior to puck drop.

Follow me, people. It’s for the kids.

*****

To make a donation to this great cause, you can go to the Canucks for Kids Telethon online donation page.

*****

(Update)

We changed the rules part-way through the challenge and I donated $64 to Canuck Place – $1 for each of my new followers and $20 for the Canucks’ empty net goal. Thank you to everyone for playing along.

Reality NHL TV: Creating a connection with casual fans

 Blog  2 Responses »
Jan 172011
 

Let’s hold off the hockey talk for a second and take a good look at the NFL and television. If there is one league in North America that understands the effect television coverage has on the bottom line and it’s ability to print money, it has to be the NFL. (If you thought you’d learn about a certain quarterback who should have retired years ago who apparently likes to open up the tool box to share his tool with people, my profuse apologies).

To back up this outlandish claim, I provide three exhibits and theme music:

  • National television revenue coming in from four major US networks (FOX, CBS, NBC, & ESPN) to the tune of $2.2B (give or take a few hundred million) – approximately double the combined US television revenue of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League combined ($1.09B).
  • Nearly every football game is available on network television within the local market. Unless you’re looking to watch every Bengals malfunction while you happen to live in Seattle, you have no need for anything more than a pair of “digital” rabbit ears.
  • And then there is NFL Films and by extension, the NFL Network. Owned and operated by the league, it gives the football addict access to everything one would want from football (including coverage of the CFL down south). Oh, and epic theme music.

Now before you run for the door, there is a connection to hockey. How many of you watched 24/7 on HBO Canada (or elsewhere for that matter)? Sorry, it’s hard to count the number of hands – yes, it’s that many. Now consider the number of people who watch the NFL on non-game days and throughout the off-season. Yes, it’s that many more.

There are those that would consider the NHL has led the professional sports leagues when it comes to embracing modern media, but the good fan knows that nothing can beat getting your product on the national and/or local television markets (just ask Rocky Wirtz). And it’s that kind of rebirth that I think can help the NHL discover the fickle market of the US hockey fan.

Now I know a few of you were non-committal to the whole idea of unfettered access to a professional sports dressing room, so why not take a peak at 24/7 and what the two teams thought of their growing rivalry?

Compelling, ain’t it? Now imagine if something like this was done on a more regular basis? Maybe it doesn’t need to be as up-to-date as 24/7 was on a weekly basis, but imagine if all the teams were the focus of a few episodes? And if you don’t think this is possible, why not take a look at what TSN and the Edmonton Oilers have been doing with Oil Change (and even better, a Canucks themed Oil Change):

Now I’m no fan of the Oil. I never have been, and likely never will be. But I give them some credit that as an organization, they have bought into this concept in what’s turning out to be a tough season. And in the spirit of disclosure, I have to concede that I haven’t seen much of Oil Change as I thought it was simply an hour long special outlining the process the Oilers used to determine their strategy during the NHL Entry Draft. But having caught a few of the episodes on NHL.com, I’ve got to say that I’m nearly hooked.

It’s not that I really care about what these three teams (Penguins, Capitals and Oilers) have been up to. Nor am I the type of guy that wants to absorb every little tidbit of information or understand each and every statistic that’s bandied about during either. I just find the fact that we get to see these heroes… role models… hockey players in a regular light. Until now, we understand that NHL players are normal guys who are paid to play a game that many would otherwise play for free, but what we know beyond that is grey. And as fans, I think it’s fair to say that having seen both 24/7 and Oil Change, we too often place far too much weight on the shoulders on what are just average guys who happen to be above-average in a sport we follow.

Yet, we do follow and will continue to do so. But if all it takes is a TV for the regular sports fan who doesn’t understand hockey that well to come on board, I say “why not?” Yes, it will be raw. Yes, we’ll see some emotion that we may not always see during a game. Yes, we’ll likely hear and see things that may cause us to grimace, wince, or even turn away. But it’s that overly compelling connection that we’ll establish with the sport that will help it continue to be successful.

And yes, there will likely be some colourful language. I don’t know what to say about that. So I’ll leave it with NFL Films Presents to discuss further:

When does Pavel get his due? (And why Pavel is like Chuck Norris.)

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Dec 112010
 
Pavel Bure

On December 2, Chuck Norris became an Honourary Texas Ranger. Raise your hand if that surprises you. Not the fact he just became a Texas Ranger, but the fact he WASN’T ALREADY a Texas Ranger? I know, eh? Want to know something else that still surprises me? The fact that Pavel Bure isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Recently, J.J. was listening to me wax on at the different reasons why the Canucks are properly retiring the number 19 and not the number 10. One of my reasons had to do with the fact that Pavel decided he no longer wanted to be in Vancouver and forced the teams hand in a trade. How do you retire the jersey of a player who found their way out of town by force? As the discussion went on, I moved away from the reasons as to why his jersey shouldn’t be retired and on to reasons why he should be the first Canuck to enter the hallowed hall.

I know statements such as these are not received well in town. Many of you are going to tell me right now that Pavel has no business entering the Hockey Hall of Fame unless Trevor Linden gets there first. And, if the world was perfect, I’d agree with you. Yet the imperfections of the world dictate that Trevor, as great of a guy as he is, doesn’t get in. Pavel was electric, while Trevor was simply powerful. Pavel had promise, while Trevor had presence. And it’s those tangible assets that Pavel had, plus his ability to score goals like no other, that should get him in the hall.

So what does this have to do with Chuck Norris again? Quite a bit. Chuck Norris was an award winning actor on an award winning show for ten seasons. Pavel Bure was an award winning player who played on what should have been an award winning team in 1994. Chuck Norris is the most exciting man on the planet, while Pavel Bure was considered the most exciting man on the ice. Chuck Norris scared people. Pavel Bure scared goaltenders. Chuck Norris scored with the home audience. Pavel Bure scored with.. well.. you know.

But more to the point, Bure was a point-a-game player (779 points in 702 games) who was quite arguably the most dynamic forward of his time. With many of his seasons (and in the end, his career) cut short due to injury, Pavel was still a force on the ice who was always cause for concern. And the goals he scored with the variety that the fans loved – once he had the puck, he was able to skate faster than anyone else on the ice while deftly being able to control the puck in ways not humanly possible.

Eligible since 2006, Pavel has seen players such as Mark Messier, Igor Larionov, Steve Yzerman and Luc Robitaille enter while he still remains outside. And compared to that group, rightfully so. But what about other comparable players?

  • Exhibit A – Cam Neely. Both Cam and Pavel had seasons and careers shortened due to injury, yet Pavel had more points in fewer games as well as five 50 goal seasons to Cam’s 3. Neither won a Stanley Cup. I’ll concede that Cam was a better leader and more responsible player on the ice, but responsibility doesn’t get you in the HHOF.
  • Exhibit B – Pat LaFontaine. Pat was an exciting player in his own right, accumulating 1013 points over 865 games (across 15 seasons). Another player whose career was cut short due to injury, he is by far the best comparison to where Pavel would have reached had he played both in the same era and for the number of seasons.

So when does Pavel get his due? I’m not sure. But just like Chuck, I think it’s only a matter of time.

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