#patrice the hockey player means a lot to me but patrice the person means so much more | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

saint-patrice · 5 years

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“Tbh I would like to have the 34 *other* Bergy pics on your shortlist, complete with commentary lolol. And then (if you’re still waiting that is) any other Marchy pics with commentary? xD xD”

here are some more of my favourite marchy pics, complete with my bizarre personal commentary, for anon! the 34 bergy pics can be found here also!

Note: a few people have said they like these posts, so i’m up for taking people’s requests if there’s a particular player they’d like to see! inbox is always open (and anon is on) so just drop me your request and i’ll get working on it :)

okay so this is some absolutely premium cute marchy!! the smile that manages to be completely self-confident yet in no way cocky? the polite little wave as he surveys his audience who, if i recall correctly, were booing him heavily?? oh i do love you mr rat. marchy is fantastic and i have so much respect for the way he deals with his reputation across the league and the excessive amount of shit he gets.he knows what people think of him yet doesn’t seem to let it get to him. i have so much love for him.

KATRINA IS LEGENDARY. before moving on to the part of the image that gave me whiplash when i first saw it, we’re back to talking about brad’s smile. i think i said it in my last post but he really is one of those people who smiles with their whole face - even if you just saw his eyes in this photo you can immediately tell that he’s got that little grin on his face and that’s adorable tbh. now onto the d*lf mug (censored bc i fear the dodgy underground porn blogs these days)… i don’t even know where to start. i feel like he very proudly bought it for himself. and it’s like the only mug he ever wants to drink out of. just my take. i also think the longer hair really suits marchy ngl

ahhh the boys and their dirtbag christmas suits 💛 highlights of this image are the suit jacket that is definitely just one size too small for this absolute man rocket, and the pants with “FRAGILE” plastered all over them - very relatable if not at all festive.

gay rights are stored in the rat!!! i’m glad marchy has been pretty open about his support of LGBT stuff, particularly within hockey. also i feel like some of the stuff he’s said in interviews or social media (esp re: lickgate) manages, even if not intentionally, to be quite diminutive towards implicit homophobia or ‘toxic masculinity’ within hockey. okay maybe that that was poorly expressed but basically he just doesn’t give a shit and appears very open and accepting and i think that’s super nice. this picture also makes for a good reaction image when someone says something dumb

short kings love.jpeg !! a wonderful example of the love that brad shows his teammates on a regular basis, despite his constant chirping. i have no real opinions on torey krug (no h8, i just don’t think i’ve seen that much of him off ice so idk) but him and marchy are quite the duo tbh, i live for their back and forths on twitter - more on that later - and they seem to love each other an awful lot, it’s v cute :^)

that’s my pest™. honestly i think lickgate is one of the best scandals in recent hockey history. when looking for a good image of this is saw an article where some dipshit reporter was outraged about it and was like “how would you feel if someone just came up and liked you?” i mean what if someone just came up and started punching you or hip-checked you into the wall????? hockey is a nasty game a lot of the time, and instead of giving people concussions or broken bones (not that he hasn’t in the past ik…) marchy managed to make opposing teams just as angry, if not moreso, just by licking players. i think it’s fucking hilarious. and most of them took it well in hindsight anyway - i think it was komarov who said he kinda liked it lmaoooooo. peak bradley kevin antics if you ask me

every pic from the china trip has such a special place in my heart. this is just an all-round adorable photo and brad is looking gorgeous in the sunlight and his backwards cap

brad waving the towel in surrender is just about the funniest thing i’ve ever seen someone do in the penalty box… i can’t believe they gave him a 10 minute misconduct for it, something i think they’d wouldn’t have done if it had have been someone else. at least someone in this league has a goddamn sense of humour. the penalty minutes stat in the corner just makes this even better

brad, once again, showing us how we should deal with people talking shit about us - just get on board with it. i love how much he’s just embraced his massive nose and his height and his general reputation. idk if it’s really deliberate but i think it’s such a good message to send, and it makes for some pretty funny stuff too.

brad single-handedly keeps nhl refs in a job. in my bruins drinking game™ you have to take a shot every time the ref has to physically restrain marchy (2 if it’s because he was going to get revenge or fend for bergy) and you could get fucked off that alone during some games. it was nice to see him not actually get suspended this year, but i will always love that he’s such a physical player and quite the pest on the ice :))

me: *slaps helmet of brad marchand* this bad boy can fit so much personality.

really though, can you believe he’s managed to squeeze more charisma into only 5 feet and 9 inches than 85% of the league combined… very cute picture, and always lovely to see him by bergy’s side on the ice where he belongs

oh my goddddddd how fucking cute is this though!!!! the hat! the dad energy those jeans and the boots give off!!! his face!! his little daughter!!!!! i can’t take it, my heart is going to burst.

(gif via @kureally) this is also just so cute, i need a minute. brad has some very powerful eyebrows and this gif displays them wonderfully. this section of behind the b was also pretty sweet all round, and i agree with pasta that the hair is looking pretty first class

(gif via @murlin09) i am not like into marchy (no tea no shade if u are though), but this gif… whew. i’ll let you come to your own conclusions on this one, gang

i was not lying when i said more on the brad-torey social media antics earlier. there are some truly iconic chirps (the zamboni one is lethal), but this self-roast just kills me every time. i never once thought i’d read a tweet from the official brad marchand twitter account that opened with “hey shorty” but here we are. “my nose wouldn’t fit” i astral projected the first time i read that. and if you’re wondering what torey said to prompt this, it was simply “hey marchy”. it doesn’t take much for brad to light on you, huh? we better watch our backs

definitely a favourite marcheron pic right here - the pucks and paddles (i still think that’s a questionable name but maybe that’s a me issue) content is always top notch. if you can find the video, it’s even better, but this picture captures the general energy of the video perfectly. the only thing missing is that brad’s feet aren’t actually on the floor because the height difference is so pronounced that bergy has to lift him. beautiful

return of the cute brad smile!! a cute yet mischievous little grin, i can only assume he’s restraining himself from laughing at m*tthews fivehead (although who is he to talk with that schnozz. at least he rocks it tbf 👃🏻). not sure blue is really his colour but he’s going for it anyway. that’s my all star!

it’s been days since this photo first surfaced and i haven’t stopped palpitating. the cutest photo ever, they all look so happy and i love that!!! also how are their wives so beautiful….!? oh my every pixel of this image is just stunning

i know i included this in my last bergy list but if they can name new york twice i think i can put this on 2 lists, because lord knows it’s even more iconic. i feel like this is a good metaphor for brad marchand: getting up to no good, although still relatively harmless, all the while supported by the considerably more sensible, yet still entertaining, patrice bergeron. additionally, another excellent display of the oft-overlooked fact that this man is built like a motherfucking tank. holy shit

i wish i could see these boys in suits without my brain immediately trying to think of some sort of au. anyway, i really like this look on brad (unpopular opinion - i love his loud checkered suits as a concept but i don’t think they look good). although he has dark hair, strong eyebrows, and dark facial hai, the all black actually looks really good on him. coffee in hand really adding to the look too - well done, brad “fashionista” marchand.

ahhhhh i love nothing more than family man marchy 💛 his daughter is adorable - those tiny jerseys kill me - and i love that his son is wearing the all-star jersey omg how cute (he is definitely going to end up taller than brad lmao)

sometimes i forget that brad is short and then i see photos like this (brandon is 6′5 for reference)…amazing. i relate to the lady on the left on a spiritual level. brad’s face is a mood and a half. his feet are half a foot of the ice at least. i adore this photo.

(gif via @brandoncarlo) absolutely one of my fav things about watching bruins games is how brad and patrice will always find each other during a celly - nothing beats the 100 hug. this is also just a very satisfying skating gif that i love.

last but very very very far from least is this. there is literally no need for me to make any comment on this so i’m just going to leave it and go. bradley kevin marchand you are iconic and ily

ayyy this was super fun to do, thank you for requesting it anon, i hope you like!! again, i’m absolutely up for taking requests for more of these lists so hmu if you have ideas :)

#my bergy post was pure thirst for the most part #this is just me appreciating the true iconicness that is marchy #the effort i went to to not use 'iconic' every third word...bc he just is #answered #Anonymous #bruins photos compilations #bruins #marchand

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burning-up-ao3 · 4 years

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From the Point 11 15 2019

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League have been short-handed this season, too. All those injuries at the NHL level meant that they had to fork over three of their best players for a little while. Plus, they've had a bunch of bumps and bruises, too. After a so-so start in their first season under coach Mike Vellucci, the Baby Penguins are on a roll. They've won four of their last five games, allowing a total of five goals, to climb into third place in their division. They host the Springfield Thunderbirds, the second-place squad, at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night. Eight of their next 10 games at at home. Thursday, we checked in with Vellucci, whose fascinating backstory includes surviving a car accident with former teammate Al Iafrate, to see how things are going down on the farm. He had some interesting things to say about Casey DeSmith, the late addition who has 11 goals in 15 games and three notable prospects who have been hit by injuries or illness. Here's a transcript of our conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Post-Gazette: What are some of the challenges your team has faced early in the season and what has helped you get on a roll lately? Mike Vellucci: It was difficult. We had 11 guys that we expected in our lineup that weren't. So we were playing guys that are in Wheeling now and playing a lot of rookies that had never played a pro game and were learning what it takes to be a pro and also understanding what my expectations are for them and the way we want to play. So it was just a lot of teaching, growing pains, finding ways to win. I just feel that structurally the last six, seven games were getting to where we need to be. PG: What was it like seeing Sam Lafferty, Adam Johnson and Joseph Blandisi come up to the NHL and make the impact that they did? We know that's what you're preparing guys to do. And what kind of message does that send to your players when they see that happen? MV: As a coach, you're thinking, 'I hope they're doing what I told them to do so they don't make mistakes.' And then it's such a great feeling when you watch them play so well and do the right things. As for what the other players see, if they're doing it right down here and do it right up there, then they could end up staying and doing well. That means don't take the shortcut. Make sure you're doing everything the right way. I think it's very helpful as an organization to see that. And, as a coach, I'd use that as motivation for the guys that aren't there yet. PG: And when someone has success at the NHL level and comes back to the AHL, like Lafferty, can you sense a different confidence about them? And how much of a boost did that give your team when those three call-ups were returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton? MV: Yeah, you play with confidence. My job is to tell them to not take any shortcuts. Do what you would do in the NHL. Don't make a change down here and think that you need to cheat for offense. If you're not going to do it up top, why would you do it here? And then continue to play with speed and passion and those things. It was good they came back. The only difference for them was that they went from eight or 10 minutes to 22 minutes of ice time. PG: We talked to Casey DeSmith a couple of weeks ago. He admitted that he was frustrated and, frankly, hurt by being put on waivers and sent down to the AHL club. How do you think he's responded to that and how critical has he been for your team? It seems like he has found his game down there recently with shutouts in back-to-back games. MV: Yes, of course he was hurt and disappointed and all those emotions, which is understandable. I talked to him when he first got down here and I pulled him aside maybe 10 days ago and just said that he can't let this affect him. He can't control that he was sent down, whether it was because of money or the cap situation or whatever it may be. The only thing he can control is how well he plays and how he tries to get better every day. So I think from that point on he's been preparing to be the best he can and not worrying about things he can't control. I think he's settled in nice. And from a team standpoint, we've settled in with our structure to limit the chances against him. And when we have broken down, he's been there to bail us out. Photo via Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins PG: Tell us about Stefan Noesen. Your team signed him just before the season started and it seems like every time we check Twitter he has just scored another goal. Tell me about him as a player and a potential prospect, because he seemingly came out of nowhere. MV: He came out of nowhere for you, but not for me. I coached him in juniors [with Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League]. So I know him very well. He was a first-round NHL pick [by Ottawa in 2011] and he had some tough injuries early in his pro career. He missed a lot of time. He played the last couple of years in the NHL and has been a very good player there. I know him. He's got great hands. His hockey sense is off the charts. He's competitive and he hates to lose. It's been a great signing for us. He's been a huge part of all of our wins, especially early on when scoring goals was difficult for us as a team. PG: How has Emil Larmi's adjustment to North American pro hockey been going? MV: Early on, he was really good, and then he had that freak, weird injury that gave us all a little scare there. He's finally gotten cleared and we're just trying to get him back into game shape so he can play. I like him a lot. I think he's a very good prospect for the organization, and he's a great person. PG: Speaking of injuries, two of the organization's better prospects, Kasper Bjorkqvist and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, have been out. Bjorkqvist had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago and is out for six months and Joseph is dealing with mononucleosis. How disappointing is it that you haven't been able to get a longer look at those two and help them develop? MV: We had all those injuries up top [in the NHL] and Joseph gets mono and Bjorkqvist goes out for six months. Go on down the list. Thomas DiPauli was hurt. It was crazy. It's difficult. It stunts their growth really. It's just going to take more time. P.O.'s getting close. He lost a lot of weight and mono really kicks your butt. So we're trying to get him back in shape and hopefully he gets cleared here in the next 10 days. Bjorkqvist, I mean, that's a big blow. One good thing is that he's in great shape and will continue to be. But he was really making some strides in his game. So it's very disappointing to see that he's out that long. PG: Last question – What's the next step for your team? You said they've really bought in structurally and you're getting some guys back in the lineup. What's the next step for your players? What do you want to see from them in the next month or so? MV: Continue to get better in all areas. But we've improved in everything we set out to improve in. We've been exiting our zone way better. That's something we worked on the last two weeks. Our forecheck is getting better. Our special teams, our power play's been really good but our penalty kill struggled early on. That was more from everybody being new to it but it's been oh-for-20 maybe in the last number of games. Just continue to get better as a team and individuals, and then being at home for the next little bit will definitely help. WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED 1. Sidney Crosby is expected to be out six weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery. 2. Are all these injuries simply bad luck or is there something more to it? Note that Crosby, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist are all highly paid core players in their thirties. 3. Jim Rutherford goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. He'll be sure to thank a lot of folks from Windsor, where he spent four formative years as a young hockey exec. 4. What's it like to bodycheck a buddy? Bryan Rust knows a little something about that. 5. Olli Maatta was back this weekend and had a lot of nice things to say about Pittsburgh. THREE STARS OF THE PAST WEEK 3. Evgeni Malkin. OK, so he was at least partially responsible for the Rangers' game-winning goal in overtime Monday. But he has been really good otherwise. He had a pair of assists in the comeback win against the Blackhawks and another Monday. That was a continuation of what he did in the previous week. The Penguins need Malkin to keep this going. 2. Jared McCann. McCann scored the shootout winner against the Blackhawks and got the team's first power play goal in a month in the loss to the Rangers. Going back to last week, McCann has two goals and four assists in his last four games with a plus-6 rating. 1. Matt Murray. He stopped 29 of 31 shots against Chicago and kept hope alive in New York after they got off to shaky start. They've lost in regulation in only four of his 15 starts. PENGUINS STAT LEADERS Goals: 8, Guentzel Assists: 12, Crosby Points: 17, Crosby +/-: +12, McCann PIMs: 17, Blueger Save %: .929, Jarry Wins: 9, Murray IT’S A GREAT WEEK FOR HOCKEY Friday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins at Devils. Three days after getting their first look at Rangers rookie Kaapo Kakko, which wasn't pretty, the Penguins have to chase after Jack Hughes for the first time. The speedy Devils center, picked first overall ahead of Kakko in June, has nine points in 17 games. Not bad. Hughes, a native of Florida, also has a minus-7 rating. Not good. Saturday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins vs. Maple Leafs. No Crosby for the Penguins and no Mitch Marner for the Leafs. The Leafs still have a few more big names, including American-born center Auston Matthews, but so far they have been pretty disappointing. With this being the second half of a back-to-back, Tristan Jarry could get his first start since Oct. 23. Tuesday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins vs. Islanders. The Penguins, as you probably recall, got a small measure of revenge last week when they rallied from three goals down to beat the Islanders in Brooklyn. The Islanders since then have started another streak and are one of four teams that entered Thursday with a better goal differential than the Penguins, who are plus-13. Thursday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins at Islanders. Jeez. These guys again? The Penguins and the Islanders play for the third time in 15 days. They won't meet again until March 15. STAT OF THE WEEK 4 – consecutive games in which the Penguins have fallen behind by two or more goals. Improbably, they won two of them and lost Monday's game in Manhattan in OT, earning a point. Opponents have scored first in 11 of the past 13 games, in part because the Penguins have just eight first-period goals. They should probably score some of those. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "I will be fire." – Evgeni Malkin, inspired by a fire alarm, on stepping up with Crosby out. EXITING THE ZONE I'll use this space to share quick Penguins tidbits, hot takes and random thoughts on hockey and life. ... Losing Crosby stings but it would hurt a lot, lot more had they not gotten off to a good start despite all their other injuries. They shouldn't fall too far behind the pack with a record like 8-11-4 in his absence. ... Now would be a great time for Nick Bjugstad to produce. I like Bjugstad as a player and he's one heck of a dude. But the points haven't been there for his linemates and him since arriving in February. ... Looks like Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel will skate together against the Devils. Eager to see if that union works. Not sure if their games mesh. ... Wrote about this Monday and it still holds true today. Jack Johnson has been pretty decent so far this season. Heck, even advanced stats back that up. Playing a lot with John Marino helped. But let's give credit where it's due. ... You should really read this story my partner, Mike DeFabo, wrote about a homeless veteran who was looking for a place to sleep outside PPG Paints Arena while the Pens recognized Veterans Day inside. Sobering stuff. subscribe here: https://my.post-gazette.com/newsletters/?utm_source=pg.com&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-subscribe&utm_content=navbar

#Pittsburgh Post-Gazette #Matt Vensel #from the point

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brandoncarlo · 6 years

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Hi! This might be outta left field here; I’m writing a fanfic, and I’ve made one of the characters be a defenseman for the NY Rangers. I’m aware that the NHL has homophobia within it, & I did my own research, & although the league fines players for slurs, etc. idk how much of a problem it still is cuz it seems like more of a “hockey fan/culture” issue, and there’s a lot of back & forth between fans & writers about ‘the nhl did good here,’ ‘they did bad here,’ etc. [1/2]

[2/2] anyways, my point is, I could use some help writing a male gay hockey player and I feel like you’d know more about even hockey players in general than me, as I’m someone who doesn’t follow hockey so closely. Thank you!

I’m going to answer this under a cut because it’ll probably end up being pretty long! hopefully it’s helpful

The big thing with hockey that’s different from other sports is how many of these guys come from relatively pretty progressive countries. You have predominantly canadians and grew up in a country where for most or all of their lives gay marriage was legal. Other than that, you have americans from places like Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, etc. which can be more progressive than other states in the US (although i know culturally parts of each state are going to be worse than others, also not to say they don’t have homophobia but that they aren’t necessarily known for it). And the europeans are from Sweden, Finland, etc. again places known for being more progressive comparatively. SO a lot of these players are from places, where culturally being gay is either relatively normalized or generally seen positively.

This doesn’t mean that homophobia is gone in any sense, it just complicates how homophobia is expressed in the NHL. It’s the kind of homophobia that other homophobic people claim is not homophobia, benevolent homophobia is probably a good way to say it. Back in 2014 when the olympics were in Russia a lot of hockey players voiced their support for gay players and gay rights during this time, only a few expressly denounced them and they were both russians with strong contacts to Putin, them being Datsyuk and Kovalchuk (who isn;t in the NHL anymore but was at one point).

The important thing with hockey culture to keep in mind is that a lot of players compartmentalize what goes on in the locker room and outside of it. A lot of the really good teams have this “I would die for my teammates” mentality which isn’t really much of an exaggeration. They love each other almost to a fault. They have to. To be as good as they are at an NHL level they have to be completely devoted to the sport, which means their teammates. A team could collapse if a player makes a mistake and his teammates blame him. They need to be able to empathize so strongly with each other this thing that they’ve invested their whole lives in, doesn’t dictate whether or no they love them. If that makes sense. This means that a lot of things we would consider grounds to break off a friendship, don’t mean the same things for them. They could be completely at odds morally and still be like “it’s different in the locker room.” A massive homophobe could work fine with a gay guy on a team, and vice versa because they have to and they’re both at a level where they’ve only made the NHL because they are able to work with everyone.

So I think when it comes to writing it’s important to remember that sometimes the way people act in a lockerroom or a team environment may be different than how they act in a more friendly setting. SOmething that’s also relevant here I think goes back to Nazem Kadri, a Toronto Maple Leaf, who said that teams don’t really talk about political things in a locker room to avoid arguments. This leads me to believe that if a player was gay, and he was out to his team, if there was someone in the room that wouldn’t like it, they just wouldn’t talk about it to keep confrontation down.

I mean the whole thing is really complicated and I would always err on the side of not adding more homophobia than is necessary. so i would personally listen when players say “i wouldn’t care if a teammate was gay.” But that of course doesn’t mean they aren’t homophobic, because their teammates are different for them. Some players are very outwardly supportive and not homophobic. Players like Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara (i’m a bruins fan so i know of these specifically) have said explicitly or supported campaigns that explicitly supported the lgbt community.

As a whole the NHL is like an organization of people who recognize that being allies to the lgbt community is a good thing, but don’t really want to put that mich effort into it. They have hockey is for everyone month and no players have spoke out against it. but of course hockey is for everyone month, while it started as a pride night sort of thing, has expanded to involve anyone so it allows for plausible deniability so they can support hockey is for everyone without admitting to not supporting gay people.

Another important thing to consider is what the player themselves was raised in. A lot of LGBT people may grow up exposed to that culture especially with the internet. but with the way nhl players are indoctrinated into hockey culture from such a young age, it’s very possible they won’t a lot of experience with other gay people, that their experience with it each other would be lonely and limited. There is documented cases of gay nhl players being able to go to gay bars and pick up guys but they wouldn’t be bale to express themselves and connect with each other on a more emotional leve. this would leave me to believe that gay nhl players would be reduced to sex and have a lot of internal homophobia. which could affect the way they accept or see homophobia.

as far as like slurs and stuff. There are a fair amount of players who do not put up with those things at all so it would not be unrealistic to have a locker room that would never allow that language even behind closed doors. It also would not be unrealistic to have a situation where a team may say things that are less extreme like, cocksucker versus the f word and just be like, okay yeah that’s not a big deal. and well meaning, great players will always say things that maybe they didn’t think all the way through that are homophobic but they don’t mean. It’s also been recorded that there have been moments where a team has felt free to use homophobic language, and then upon learning a player on the team is gay, they’ve all ceased using it and became very against using that language.

So a lot of homophobia that exists, may not be hostile although i’m sure there are some palyers in the NHL who are like that. but i personally think it’s probably best to err on the side of like, dealing with interalized homophobia and more benevolent homophobia because i believe it’s realistic and emphasizing gay pain in the NHl especiall if you aren’t MLM can be offensive and unnecessary.

If you need more help with stuff feel free to ask more!

#homophobia tw #fic #long post #who-can-rock-a-rhyme-like-this

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spine-buster · 6 years

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Chapter 23 - The Beginning and the End of Everything (Finn Balor)

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“How do I look?” Gemma asked one last time as the limousine stopped, the driver putting the car in park and exiting.

“Like I said…you look delectable,” Fergal eyed her. She’d chosen a floor length black dress with a gold belt and straps, and an exposed back. At first she wanted to wear something that looked like a nun’s habit but he managed to convince her out of it. He was trying every day to make it known to her that despite the “new body” she always harped on about, she was still attractive and sexy; still allowed to feel like a million bucks. She had looked at herself in the mirror for a good ten minutes with the dress on. When she made a quip about gold being her colour anyway, he knew she’d chosen the dress.

They posed on the red carpet for a few pictures before a handler ushered them inside. Upon entering the building they were met with a few more photographers, taking informal pictures of them before Gemma had to do the media scrum.

Fergal watched as she looked around the room, mentally counting the amount of reporters lined up interviewing hockey players. He squeezed her hand to get her attention. “You alright?”

Before Gemma could answer him, her name was called loudly from beyond the media scrum. Gemma turned her attention away from Fergal, trying to find the voice that had called her name. Fergal watched as Gemma’s face lit up. “John!”

A good looking man in a very well tailored suit speed walked towards her, engulfing her in a giant hug. Fergal noticed the media pass around his neck sandwiched between their bodies. “God, I’m so glad I get to see you before the ceremony!” the man exclaimed, letting go of his hug but still keeping his hands on her arms. Fergal was watching closely. “How are you? How’s everything?”

Gemma shrugged her shoulders, a giant smile on her face. “Everything’s good. You know. Could be better but it’s still good.”

“Making the best of a shitty situation.”

“As always.”

Fergal stood awkwardly watching the interaction before the man looked his way. His hands dropped from Gemma’s arms. “You must be Fergal,” he said, extending his hand. Fergal shook it politely. “I’m John Patterson. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Fergal nodded his head. “How do you know Gemma?”

“We’ve worked together in the past,” Gemma answered for him. “John works for the Leafs now,” she looked towards him. She backhanded his arm playfully. “Are you head of PR yet or what?”

“I’m working on it,” John blushed. “But speaking of, make sure you stop by Patti for us so we can get an interview with you – lifelong Leaf fan and all,” he turned to point out the reporter in the scrum Gemma would need to speak to. “Will I see you at the after-party?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, good. I’ll come find you,” he hugged her again. He turned to Fergal. “It was really nice to meet you, man. I’ve heard so much about you. But I’m working tonight, so I’ll catch up with you at the after-party.”

“Yeah, cool, nice to meet you too,” Fergal said, John leaving halfway through the sentence.

Yet another man in a suit approached them, this time much older. “Ms. Fitzgerald, are you ready? You’ll begin just as Mr. Bergeron moves on.”

“Yes sir,” Gemma nodded her head, flattening out her dress.

Fergal knew that was the moment where she’d be gone for at least fifteen or twenty minutes and he’d be left alone in the background. He knew he would have to ask her the only question that was currently on his mind. “That John guy, you said he worked with you before?”

“Mhm.”

“Where? Hockey Canada?”

“Uh, not entirely.”

“Well, where then?”

Gemma gulped, wishing the first reporter would call her over. She saw Patrice Bergeron moving along to the second reporter. “You remember how I told you I’ve only really had one serious boyfriend before you?”

Fergal’s heart fluttered for a moment – not in the good way. “That was him?!”

“Mhm.”

“That’s your ex-boyfriend? He works for the Leafs?”

“Mhm.”

“Wait…” Fergal replayed the conversation. “Why did he say he’s heard so much about me?”

Before he could say anything else, the older gentleman approached them again. “Ms. Fitzgerald, you may go ahead to the media scrum now.”

“Gemma.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Gemma,” he said sternly, but she left him there to process what he just heard and ask himself a million more question he’d have to wait to get the answer to.

He watched her every move as she made her way through the scrum. In that time, his brain was on overdrive trying to come up with some answers. So, she had an ex-boyfriend who worked in the hockey world. He knew she had one; she just never specified who he was or what field he worked in. Now Fergal knew. John was attractive. A ‘Suit’ type. Slightly older than Gemma but of course, younger than himself. Anyone Gemma knew would be younger than him, Fergal reasoned. He was ten years older than she was. He was an old geezer. And it was possible (was it clear?) that they still kept in touch. How else would John know she was with him? Nobody mentioned it on WWE programming. He never tweeted out any pictures of them together. She didn’t tweet out any pictures of them together. This was their first official event together. He didn’t even hug her during his return match, at her request. Unless he knew because of Fergal’s attendance at the Leafs game where they honoured Gemma. But they weren’t even together then. Did she tell him over text? Over phone call when he wasn’t around? What was that conversation like? Why did she even feel the need to tell him? Why -----

“You alright?” Gemma’s voice interrupted his spiralling train of thought. “We should go sit down. It’s just through there. We’re in the fourth row.”

Fergal didn’t want to wait any longer for answers. “What happened with you and John?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why’d you guys break up?”

Gemma tugged at his arm, pulling him through the black curtain so they were alone in the area between the media scrum and the main area, where nobody would hear what they were talking about. “We were just on different paths,” she began, looking at him. “I was traveling a lot and then he got the job with the Leafs. There was never any ill will or anything. It was very mutual, and we knew it had to be done. We were very mature about it.”

“That’s why you two still talk.”

“Yeah. He’s a good guy. There aren’t many like him in hockey – at least in the offices. He doesn’t let his position get to his head. That sort of thing.”

Fergal calmed down considerably. There was no way he was going to completely freak out. She was so calm about telling him. And there was no way he was going to ruin her night at the NHL Awards by getting angry with her. John did seem like a pretty levelheaded guy. And if he was good enough for Gemma to date and still keep in touch with, he would be good enough for Fergal. “So I shouldn’t be worried about him?”

“Oh no way,” Gemma scoffed. “He’s married to his job now. He wants to be like, head of PR for the Leafs by the time he’s thirty…he’s a career man. Always was, really. He’ll be one of those guys that doesn’t settle down until he’s in his late thirties or early forties.”

“Like me.”

Gemma smiled. “Like you.” She leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the lips. “You don’t have anything to worry about Ferg. He’s great but he’s not Fergal Devitt level great.”

The NHL Awards were fun for Fergal. Though he was in a different environment than what he was used to and felt a little bit out of his element, he was enjoying the ambience and ceremony. The more important thing was that every time he looked at Gemma, she looked like she was having the time of her life. He absolutely loved seeing her so happy. Throughout the night she had hockey players – guys she loved and respected and probably watched on TV – coming up to her and telling her how much they loved her. Fergal could tell it was surreal for her. Every time one left, she’d squeeze his arm and dig her nails into his skin. She’d tell him who the person was, as if he would know how much weight their words and praises had on her. ‘That was Joe Sakic, Ferg.’ ‘Ferg, that was Sidney Crosby. Sidney fucking Crosby. People say I’m the female him.’ ‘Holy mother of God, Fergal. Mark Messier! Mark Messier!’

Gemma received a standing ovation from everybody when she went out on stage, and Fergal knew she was trying very, very hard to keep her emotions in check. To be given an ovation in a room full of your peers was a lot to handle. He could tell, too, that one of the cameras panned right to him, standing and clapping along with everyone else, but at that point he didn’t care. He was there for Gemma and Gemma only. If hockey writers and reporters wanted to speculate about who he was and do some digging, he didn’t care – he was there to support his girlfriend. That was all that mattered to him, and that was all that should matter.

Gemma said a few kind words before presenting the Hart Trophy some young guy a guy named Connor McDavid. It was about five minutes before he’d see her again, and by that point it was the end of the show. Everybody in the arena began to leave for the afterparty, which is exactly where he and Gemma were headed for a bit before calling it a night. He knew she would want to mingle with everyone so he made sure to have an extra shot of espresso to stay awake.

As they began to make their way out of the T-Mobile Arena, both Gemma and Fergal both heard an extremely loud ‘GEMMAAAAAAAAAA!’ from behind them. Gemma spun around quickly, only to see P.K Subban running towards her. Her face lit up immediately as he picked her up and spun her around.

“PK!” she squealed as she set him down. “About time I saw you!”

“I had to surprise you! Look at you in this dress, girl,” he gave her the up down. “Did you choose this or did your boyfriend over here?” he nodded his head towards Fergal.

“Hey, be nice,” she pointed her finger at him comically. “And for your information, I chose this dress all by myself.”

“You must be the infamous PK Subban,” Fergal chimed in, completely taking Gemma by surprise. She had no idea how Fergal knew who he was. Bless him, but he was completely clueless about hockey – as clueless as she was about wrestling. “I’ve read a lot about you.”

“I hope you’ve only read the good articles,” PK quipped.

“You bet. One of my best buddies is from Montreal and he told me about your donation to the children’s hospital. You’re the fucking man, PK.”

PK put his hand over his heart solemnly. “Hey man, it’s my honour to do stuff like that, you know. You understand completely, don’t you Balor?”

Gemma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Fergal knowing who PK was, bringing up his donation to the Montreal Children’s Hospital; PK bringing up Fergal’s wrestling name? “Are you stalking my boyfriend, PK?”

PK rolled his eyes. “I don’t stalk your boyfriend, sweetheart. My little cousin is obsessed with him,” he focused his attention back to Fergal. “He’s got the bodysuit and everything. I had to buy it for him for Christmas. He wouldn’t shut up about it and now he won’t stop wearing it.”

Fergal couldn’t help but laugh. He always found wrestling in the most unconventional of places. “Well in that case, he should get a little too sweet from me.”

PK’s eyes bulged out of his head as he whipped out his phone. “Dude, he’s gonna freak. Next thing you know we’re gonna be doing a buddy cop movie together.”

“PK --” Gemma tried to interject.

“I’ve already thought about this – what about something simple like Subban and Balor? Or do you want to be first? Balor and Subban? Who’s the good cop and who’s the bad cop?” he chatted as he took the selfie.

“PK --”

“Ooooooh dude, what about a sitcom? Like the odd couple? Hey could you get John Cena to make a cameo?”

“Pernell-Karl,” Gemma emphasized his full name. “Stop scaring my boyfriend.”

“I’m not scaring him!” PK defended himself. “He loves the idea.”

“Hey PK, let’s go!” another voice shouted from within the crowd.

“Hey listen,” PK put his hand on Fergal’s shoulder. “Anytime you’re in Toronto with this one over here, you let me know. I know people who can get the pilot script going in no time.”

“PK! Let’s go!”

He disappeared into the massive crowd of people as Fergal continued to laugh at the prospect of them in any sort of TV show together. Judging by how well their brief meeting went, any hypothetical time they’d spend together would drive Gemma nuts. “I love that guy,” he chuckled.

“How do you even know who he is?” Gemma asked, shaking her head.

“Hey, I do my homework.”

At the after party, Gemma was having the time of her life. She milked her drink for a while, only because so many people were coming up to her and talking to her. Some conversations were jovial while others were more serious – some even whispered or talked in low, hushed voices so no-one else would hear. Gemma would nod along secretively. Fergal wondered what they were saying – but then again, he’d know the second they got into their hotel room.

It was only when they were alone together, briefly, that Fergal noticed her eyes go wide for a very brief second. She immediately looked down and away from whatever she had been looking at.

Fergal looked behind him. Was it PK again? Was it someone else she idolized? “You alright?” he asked.

"Don’t look now…but…do you see that woman behind you? In that tight bandage dress?"

He looked behind him immediately and saw exactly who Gemma was referring to. "Yeah..."

"That's her. That's Amanda Robinson."

Fergal tried to remain calm. He really did. But at the mention of that name, he felt his blood begin to boil. He took one good look at her and promptly decided she was the absolute ugliest woman he'd ever seen in his life. Sure, she was conventionally attractive to some, but knowing what she had done to Gemma, knowing how she had no remorse, that she practically bragged about it and was still allowed to step foot on the ice made her the ugliest woman in the world. No apology. No acknowledgement of wrongdoing. Nothing.

"Want me to get Becky on her?" he asked, his jaw tight.

"That sounds tempting, but I'll pass. She's not worth it."

“I ought to go over there and give her a piece of my mind,” Fergal said through clenched teeth.

“Ferg.”

“I mean it. She fucking injured you, Gemma. What is she even doing here?”

“I don’t know, but please don’t.”

“This is your night.”

“Technically it’s Connor McDavid’s night.”

Fergal looked at her. “You are the best god damn female hockey player of your generation. Don’t you ever forget that. She can show up here and try to get attention but nobody, nobody, not the least her, is ever going to change the fact that you’re the best. Fuck, you’re probably better than half the guys here.”

Gemma couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m stating the truth. You’re the best Gemma. That’s what’s going down in the record books.”

Gemma was tired as she answered questions for a room full of reporters the next morning. There would later be a luncheon for everyone involved in the ceremony last night, especially for those who won awards. Gemma had been invited and thought it was a nice way to cap off the weekend. She wasn’t told about the press conference beforehand, but she participated nonetheless.

It was very different from the last press conference she held, to say the least. At the last one, of course, she had to announce how she couldn’t play hockey again. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do. And to do it in front of a room full of people? That made it even worse. Things were different now, but she still felt slightly uncomfortable. Usually when she did these, it was because of a good game or a win in an international tournament. Now, instead of questions pertaining to her game, she was getting questions about her ‘retirement’. She asked them specifically not to call it a retirement. She wasn’t retired. She was twenty-six, for heaven’s sake. No twenty-six year old should be retired.

“Ms. Fitzgerald, I��m from the Vancouver Sun. I was wondering if you saw Amanda Robinson at the ceremony last night?”

Uncomfortable murmurs made their way through the room. What was this douchebag trying to do? “No, I didn’t see her.”

“Did you hear the remarks she made?” he asked again.

“No.”

“May I have permission to play the recording?” he asked, but barely waited for Gemma’s answer. He pressed play and a reporter’s voice filled the air, asking about what Amanda thought about Gemma presenting the Hart Trophy.

“She looks good though. I mean, I thought she was pregnant at first, but when I was told she wasn’t I figured her body just filled out,” Amanda’s voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “I saw her still limping from her injury tonight, which is a shame because by now she should be walking fine.”

Gemma felt like her entire body was on fire. She tried to maintain her composure, to not let the room full of press know how angry she was getting, but she rolled her eyes slightly. It was the only action she actually wished got caught on camera. She figured there was no more front to put up. No more grace for the sake of Hockey Canada; no more polite attitude for the sake of her spot on the team.

“Any response?” the reporter asked.

“You can tell Amanda Robinson I’m still limping because it’s heavier to carry gold around the neck than silver.”

#finn balor #finn blalor fic #finn balor imagine #finn balor fan fic #finn balor fan fiction #finn balor fanfic #finn balor fanfiction #wwe #wwe fic #wwe imagine #wwe fan fiction #wwe fan fic #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction #baeoe series

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thrashermaxey · 5 years

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20 Fantasy Hockey Thoughts

Every Sunday, we'll share 20 Fantasy Thoughts from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week's ‘Daily Ramblings’.

Writers: Michael Clifford, Ian Gooding, Cam Robinson, and Dobber

1. This year’s free agent crop is one absolutely loaded with talent. Aside from Mark Stone, names like Erik Karlsson, Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Joe Pavelski, and Jeff Skinner top the list, and that’s discounting guys like Alex Edler and Jordan Eberle.

Stone is one of the few players I suspect will be on the move at or before the trade deadline and that means there’s a lot of interest in his future both for the balance of this season and next year.

Let’s set aside the balance of this year for a second. One reason Stone’s UFA contract should be fascinating is that he’s truly one of the best wingers on the planet. Are there enough GMs who view him as such that there will be a bidding war? He has 105 points in his last 98 games, so his offense has started to show through over the last couple seasons.

Stone may not be a coveted fantasy asset like Brad Marchand or Vladimir Tarasenko but he’s similar in real-world talent. He should see north of $8-million a year. How much further will depend on how general managers value him which is, in a nerdy-ish kind of way, exciting. (jan3)

2. Where’s the clamoring for John Gibson as MVP this year? All the usual names like Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Nikita Kucherov are constantly brought up. What about Gibson? Night after night through two months of the 2018-19 season this guy was getting bombarded and he kept this team in and around a playoff spot. He deserves serious Hart consideration. (jan1)

3. I guess six goals and nine points in seven games isn’t enough to keep you on an NHL roster anymore. At least it wasn’t for Brandon Pirri, who was sent to the AHL on Friday. No, it doesn’t make sense on the surface. But Max Pacioretty returned from injured reserve on Friday and Pirri was waiver-exempt (had not been on an NHL roster for 10 games or 30 consecutive days), while other options for demotion weren’t.

That’s the cap world for you, and maybe even an example of the difference between how an NHL roster and your fantasy team are constructed.

4. Golden Knights assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon has said “he’ll (Pirri) be back.” For now, you’re probably safe to drop Pirri, unless you have generous bench space. It sounds like he’ll be the first player recalled in the event of another injury, so we might not have to wait very long to see him again. Must be nice to be the Vegas Golden Knights and accumulate this much depth. (jan5)

5. David Rittich returned to the net Saturday after a brief injury absence, stopping 32 of 34 shots in a 3-2 win over the Flyers. You probably know by now that Rittich has been by far the better Flames’ goalie. If the Flames are to continue their stay at the top of the Western Conference, it’s imperative that they play the hot hand instead of the guy with the higher salary in Mike Smith. (jan6)

6. An update from the Flyers states that goaltender Brian Elliott may return before the end of January, or pre-All Star break. With that said, as long as Carter Hart remains healthy and gives the Flyers a chance to win every night, he’s not leaving the starters’ role. (jan1)

7. The way goalies have been dropping like flies, not only will Flyers’ recent waiver-wire acquisition Mike McKenna suit up again in the NHL this season, but he’ll become somewhat fantasy relevant at some point. It may be with the Flyers, but it could just as well be with another team. If you don’t believe me, then I bet the injury-ravaged (at least in net) Leafs would have picked him up off waivers had the Flyers passed on him. (jan5)

8. Dougie Hamilton, nice to finally see you in the boxscore. Hamilton’s goal and assist last Thursday were his first points since (looks way down the game log) December 5. That was 11 games without a point. Even with the point drought coming to an end, there are still signs that it’s not going to happen for Hamilton in Carolina. He’s still on the second-unit power play behind Justin Faulk and of late has often played under 20 minutes.

I know there are plenty of defensemen with good offensive numbers that play less than 20 minutes per game but, from a fantasy perspective, Hamilton is simply not being used enough by the Canes to be effective in points leagues relative to other options. Yes, I can see that he had comparable ice time numbers in Calgary, but minutes and opportunities matter if you’re looking for reasons that his production is way down.

I know I’ve banged the drum on Hamilton in the past, but I’m currently in sell mode when it comes to his stock, having just traded him away in one single-season league. (jan4)

9. I know that it can take years before we determine the real winner of a trade. But when you factor in Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, can we declare Calgary the early winner of the offseason trade with Carolina?

Calgary has Hanifin and Lindholm, who has already established a career high in points in half a season. For Carolina, Hamilton has struggled mightily, while Micheal Ferland has cooled off (just one goal since November 21). Carolina also received prospect Adam Fox in the deal, so there’s still time for this deal to be more favorable for the Hurricanes. (jan6)

10. In Friday’s Ramblings, I mentioned Jared Spurgeon and his ice time with Matt Dumba out of the lineup. Hopefully you’ve noticed, as Spurgeon is really heating up. With two goals on Saturday, Spurgeon now has three goals and five points over his last two games. Spurgeon hadn’t taken advantage of the situation scoring-wise until those last two games, but he’s been an absolute minute muncher since Dumba’s injury, averaging just over 26 minutes per game since December 18. (jan6)

Reminder: Our Midseason Guide is up for presale with a release date of next Friday, January 11. Pre-order it here and make sure it’s in your Downloads section waiting for you the instant we publish it.

11. Tyler Seguin scored both Stars’ goals in their 2-1 overtime win over Washington on Friday. Seguin now has goals in back-to-back games and points in four consecutive games for a total of six points since the CEO’s abrasive comments one week ago. Maybe the comments have lit a fire under Seguin. (jan5)

12. A day after being named to the Pacific Division All-Star team, Elias Pettersson left Thursday’s game against Montreal with a lower-body injury. At first glance, I thought it seemed like a fairly innocent play. You can see Pettersson’s leg bend in a way that it shouldn’t. But then you can also see Jesperi Kotkaniemi pulling Pettersson to the ice while getting his legs in the way. It should have been a two-minute penalty, but whatever.

As a Canucks’ fan, I will say optics-wise that I’m not as angry about this incident as I was about the Mike Matheson chokeslam that cost the Panthers’ defenseman two games and sidelined Petey with a concussion. As long as Pettersson is embarrassing opponents, he’s going to have a target on his back for some physical payback. (jan4)

The Calder Trophy favorite has been diagnosed with a slight MCL sprain in his knee. This injury typically requires 1-2 weeks of recovery. (jan6)

13. Even with 33 goals and 66 points, 2017-18 was seen as a down year for Vladimir Tarasenko. He had been battling through injuries and the St. Louis power play didn’t do him any favors, but some (present company included) were excited for a turnaround for the 2018-19 season. Things haven’t gone as planned, though, as he has just 11 goals and 23 points in 38 games. It’s been a brutal first half for him.

It’s also been a brutal first half for the Blues as they find themselves scrambling to stay out of the league’s cellar. The team making its way to the playoffs seems like a far-fetched idea. What if Tarasenko doesn’t turn his season around in the second half? We’re talking about a guy who had established himself as one of the top wingers in the league over a three-year span and then will have had back-to-back poor seasons on a team that missed the playoffs. What does management do?

It seems unfathomable to trade an elite talent like Tarasenko coming off a bad year (or two) while secured to a very team-friendly contract. Then again, we thought the same thing about Taylor Hall. I’m excited to see what Tank does in the second-half of the 2018-19 season, but more importantly, what his future holds in 2019-20 and beyond. (jan3)

14. Alex Ovechkin is turning down the opportunity to play in this year’s All Star Game, opting instead to just take the week to rest. With the rules the league put in place years ago, that means Ovechkin will have to miss a game either directly before or directly after the ASG itself.

Given the playoff run last year, his age, and the team’s expectations for another deep run this year, I can’t really blame him. He’s given us some of the best All Star Game moments over the last decade, he’s earned a weekend off. (jan3)

15. No change in Corey Crawford’s status according to ’Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton. I suppose no chance is better than worsening, but in the leagues where I have Crawford on my roster, I’m operating as if he won’t return this year. This is a scary situation. Let’s just hope he comes out of this ok as a person, let alone return to the ice. (jan3)

16. David Pastrnak is back on pace for a triple-digit campaign. The 22-year-old is as elite an asset as you can find outside of the Connor McDavid-bin.

Meanwhile, linemate Patrice Bergeron has nine points in seven games since returning from five weeks off. His 1.38 points-per-game are eighth-best in the league. He’s on pace to shatter most of his offensive career-highs. I’ll resume my campaign to get him Hart trophy votes. (jan2)

17. I thought the Hitch hiring would be great for Oilers’ goalies but that clearly hasn’t been the case for the past three weeks. Whether you decide to sell high on Mikko Koskinen depends on how much faith you have in the Oilers as a team. Given the Oilers’ track record and personnel, I wouldn’t hold out too much hope. (jan6)

18. Viktor Arvidsson has 12 goals and 18 points in 19 games on the season. He’s just another example of the fourth-year-breakout and gaudy offensive totals this year. Don't sleep on Viktor. (jan2)

19. Mackenzie Blackwood is getting his chance because the main guy is injured. And he’s off to a hot start. Chalk it up to adrenalin. But unlike with Carter Hart, Blackwood has already been a pro for two seasons. He can make the jump without it being called ‘too soon’. He has a chance.

Keith Kinkaid has been great up until the last month and is not a future starter. He doesn’t seem to be as great with a heavier workload. To me, last year’s 41 games were about the max for him, which is more of a 1B type of guy.

It’s hard to say if Blackwood is any different because his pro career has been thus far been limited to 37 games in a season at most. This was supposed to be the year where they tweak him up to 45 or 50 in Binghamton, and then we would get a clear picture. But with Cory Schneider sidelined for who knows how long, I guess we’ll see if right away if Blackwood can handle it.

I like Blackwood’s situation for the long term because Kinkaid’s contract is up soon and Schneider’s career could take another year or so to get on track (Roberto Luongo recently noted that his type of hip surgery took a couple of years to get everything back to normal). By that time, he’ll have just two years left on his contract and with Blackwood filling in during the interim, perhaps he steals the job by then. (dec30)

20. I’ll have to admit that I was not buying into a potential bounce-back for Zach Parise. Yet, if you took a flier on him in the later rounds of your draft, you’ve been handsomely rewarded. With a goal and two assists on Saturday, Parise has nine points (4g-5a) and a plus-7 over his last five games, along with a point-per-game pace of 38 points in 39 games.

After declining returns for three consecutive seasons together with numerous injuries, Parise should be considered a candidate for comeback player of the year. He’s on pace for 80 points but I’m thinking that 70 points is more realistic and within reach. That target of 70 points would represent a career high for his time with the Wild. (jan6)

Have a good week, folks!!

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/20-fantasy-hockey-thoughts/20-fantasy-hockey-thoughts-57/

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thosedaysthatwill · 5 years

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Alright Lily. Ramble to me. Hockey asks 10,19, 23 & 24, 28 & 29, 32-34, 50 and 64

I went back and put this under a cut because DUDE it got reeeeeally long...

10. Gotten injured WATCHING hockey Well, lately, when I yell at my TV (or laugh at something someone posted) I will go into couch fits and that hurts. But I’ve never been hit with a puck or anything. I’ve never even got a puck at a real hockey game.

19. Duo Oh boy. Ever? My mind goes to Slava Fetisov and Igor Larionov. On the ice and off, they did a hell of a lot, and could do it because they had support from each other. And like then I have to talk about Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan. Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens were like the perfect defensive pair EVER. They are what all pairs aspire to be (or should). I mean do we want to get cliche, because like Gretzky and Kurri were pretty good, too. But currently? I mean Patrice and Brad have to be WAAAY up there on any duo list. Blake and Mark, yes, but Blake and David were just as magical way back when. Blake and Patrik are pretty good, too. Like Blake can pass to any sniper. It quite seems that Connor and Leon have something special, but I don’t have enough personal data there yet. John and Esa are probably my favorite current (regular) pair. (I’m sure I’m forgetting like a million that I should talk about, but that’s what I have right now.)

23. Player under 25 I’m going to say Roope Hintz. I thought a lot about this one, and I think he has such potential and such skill, and dude that kid can skate, I really enjoy just watching him hockey. My other option here was going to be either KC or Charlie. Because I just love young players that you KNOW are going to grow into something magical, but right now they’re kinda like newborn giraffes sometimes. So… that’s where I am with the younguns.

24. Player over 25 I did some mental debating on this one. But I have to say Patrice Bergeron. He does everything right. He plays the right way, he passes, he defends, he leads. He’s just the perfect hockey player. But like I want to talk more about defensemen, I want to talk about Ben of course, because all the fantastic things he does don’t get noticed because defense isn’t flashy. (And I struggled not to answer this question with a retired player ‘cause they’re over 25….)

28. Player not on your own team Probably Matthew Tkachuk. He’s grown up a lot this season. He has a lot of talent and he’s learning to use that instead of being an asshole. He’s still chirpy, but he’s less idiotic. I only watched a handful of Oilers games, but Leon Draisaitl is phenomenal and I look forward to seeing more. Also, Paul Stastny, and I don’t like that he’s in Vegas as much as he doesn’t like that he’s in Vegas. (I have been remembering how much I adore Marc-Edouard Vlasic, so I’m not allowed to watch more Sharks games.)

29. Player on your least favorite team *deep breath* Alex Steen. He’s really thrived on his new third line role and it’s nice to see him succeed rather than languish like he did on the second line.

32. Defenseman I have a feeling I’m supposed to give different answers to these than the ones I already gave. Like if someone is my favorite player, they’re gonna be my favorite defenceman too, right? Anyway, Ben Chiarot and Esa Lindell. I like mobile defensive defenseman. (Does anyone remember Rostislav Klesla?) Being defensive isn’t enough, you have to skate too. Too many defensemen either wander off to wonderland and you might as well call them a forward, or they hang around and don’t skate, they just hit. Both kinds are useless to defend (with the very rare exception that can skate back from wonderland in time).

33. Forward Passing is hot. Watching Blake and Patrice pass is like a religious experience. There is just that moment when that pass connects across eight million opposing players and the shot is right on net. And that is what hockey is all about. I love those moments. I’ve been seeing that with the Stars between Roope and Miro, oddly enough.

34. Goalie Okay maybe it makes me a homah, but Tuukka. Hear me out, making good saves is nice. And that’s important, sure. But when a goalie is passionate about hockey, that’s when you get the magic. Marty Brodeur was angry every single time he was scored on. He didn’t shrug them off, he came back and made ten more impossible saves. (Everything that wasn’t a shutout wasn’t a good game to him.) Tuukka is like that. That’s what makes a goalie great instead of good.

50. Will be a surprise next year, either good or bad I think the Devils are going to get a lot of attention next season because of Jack Hughes and it’s been a long time since the press was up the Devils’ ass and that’ll be fun to watch. (And yeah, I’ll be watching.) I think that the Oilers are going to get shook up if Ken Holland really does come aboard and that could be either really great or really awful, no gray area.

64. Penalty Okay, how about when you INJURE a player, you are out as long as that player is out. I don’t care if you “meant” to do it or not, that doesn’t make him any less hurt. When he comes back, you can come back.

THANKS FOR ASKING!!

#I LOVE GETTING THESE ASKS!!#this is so much fun to do!#I really love rambling about hockey #katielynn94

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burning-up-ao3 · 5 years

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20 Penguins Thoughts: Teammates' concern for Patric Hornqvist is real

January 15, 2019 8:17 AMBy Jason Mackey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s a text message that Kris Letang doesn’t want to send.

Not because he doesn’t care — he does.

More how he knows it’ll be received.

But like many Penguins who’ve experienced multiple concussions, Letang knows exactly what Patric Hornqvist, who’s had five of them since December 2014, is going through. And Letang, while he cares an awful lot, doesn’t want to be burdensome.

“I’ve been through that,” Letang said. “The last thing I wanted was everybody texting me. That’s why I try to leave him alone. If you’re too [in his face], he might feel like he has to come back quicker. He might not make a good decision.”

Injuries in contact sports are inevitable. Even ones to your brain.

“It’s part of our sport,” Letang said. “We know what we signed up for.”

But with yet another one happening to Hornqvist, something has become clear when discussing the situation with his teammates: This isn’t the same as someone recovering from a knee injury or even his first or second concussion; Penguins players are genuinely concerned about Hornqvist’s head.

“When it’s a good friend and someone we all love and is important to us, you worry about it,” Matt Cullen said. “The positive is we have some pretty good people in place as far as taking your time off and allowing things to heal up and doing the best you can to control those things. Aside from that, we all just hope he’s alright.”

2. Hornqvist, who was concussed last Tuesday against the Panthers, has been skating on his own back in Pittsburgh, which is obviously a good sign.

While the Penguins look forward to getting Hornqvist back, they also don’t want him to rush anything, for fear that he comes back too soon and jeopardizes his long-term health.

“You have to be careful,” Sidney Crosby said. “He has to make sure he’s ready when he comes back.

“He’s been smart about it, though. Especially the way he plays and how tough he plays, he has to make sure he’s feeling good.”

There’s a pretty good reason Hornqvist should take this slow, too.

Actually a couple of them.

“He’s got a family and kids (daughters Isabella and Vendela),” Cullen said. “That’s the first thing that you worry about for him. … Our thoughts are all with him, that’s for sure.”

Mostly, the Penguins just want Hornqvist to be able to be himself again.

“He’s a heart-and-soul guy,” Cullen said. “He’s one of the most important guys in this room as far as keeping the team on the right track. He just brings so much life and energy to our group. He’s one of those guys that makes it really fun for all of us. It’s a lot different when he’s not here.”

3. The other thing area of concern — and this is probably more outside of the Penguins dressing room than inside of it — is Hornqvist’s style of play.

The same rough-and-tumble style that has made Hornqvist so good at what he does — enough for 20 or more goals in every full season he’s played and a $5.3-million-a-year contract through 2023 — is the same one that doesn’t age well.

When Hornqvist does come back, it’s easy to say that he should change. For his own health and career, sure, but also for his family. But can he? Crosby thinks that will be tough.

“You can’t adjust to a puck in the face,” Crosby said, referencing what caused Hornqvist’s latest concussion. “What are you going to do? He had one off his head in warmup. They’re fluke things.”

Which, again, is why Crosby doesn’t think Hornqvist can or will change his game whenever he does get back.

“He only knows one way to play,” Crosby said. “That’s the way he plays the game. Sometimes those things can happen. The way he competes and the way he plays, I don’t see him changing that.”

4. Hornqvist has said repeatedly that he’s not going to change his game, often reasoning that he can’t or he’ll be out of the league.

It sounds harsh, but Letang understands where Hornqvist is coming from.

The Penguins asked Letang to change his game last season — OK, tweak — to take fewer dangerous hits, but it wound up being one of the things that contributed to an off-year for him in 2017-18.

“You can’t really change your game, honestly,” Letang said. “Certain players have played their whole life like that. That’s why they have those contracts and why they’ve had so much success. If you change that, you might become ineffective.”

5. I hope Hornqvist can do something. For his health and for his family.

Staying objective as a reporter is one thing, but you root for everybody — player or not — to avoid serious brain injuries.

As Cullen said on concussions, “There’s still so much we don’t know.” He’s right. But we do know this: They’re scary. Especially when they occur with the frequency that they have with Hornqvist.

“I feel for him,” Matt Murray said. “It’s a tough situation. It’s not an injury that’s fun to deal with, obviously. I can’t speak to how he’s feeling or anything like that. I just wish him all the best, like the rest of us here. Personally, not anything to do with hockey, you wish that he’s feeling good.”

6. The NHL and NHLPA met recently to discuss the current CBA, which runs through 2022, although the league and players have the option to terminate it this September (to be made effective Sept. 15, 2020).

From the league’s perspective, commissioner Gary Bettman would seemingly like to hold another World Cup of Hockey in 2020, and that could play a part in whether or not there’s labor peace through 2020 and beyond.

While Crosby said he didn’t want to comment specifically on negotiations “because it can change so many times,” he said he would be in favor of another World Cup. Crosby also would love to play in the 2022 Beijing Games.

“I’m good with both,” Crosby said. “I’ve had good experiences in both. I don’t know about the timing of it and how it fits in with everything. They did a great job in Toronto [in 2016]. Definitely the two Olympics I’ve been involved with, I thought they were awesome. We’ll see what happens.”

7. Crosby said much must still be determined with how the event would be structured — he brought up the possibility of another Team Europe and the under-23 squad as variables — in addition to the length of time it would require out of players.

But Crosby did really enjoy the last World Cup, held in Toronto in 2016, and would be all for doing it again. Maybe both, if the NHL and NHLPA could swing it.

“I think it was a big thing,” Crosby said. “We’ll have to see how it works out. I don’t know if it’s going to be the same format or how that’s going to shake out. The length of time, too, and when they do it. It’s something they have to figure out. I think they’re both [meaning the Olympics, too] are pretty good events.”

8. My two cents: I think the NHL is more in favor of the World Cup, while the players would probably rather go to the Olympics. They see the latter as a bigger stage, and they’re probably right.

Bettman has said before he worries about the disruption to the NHL season, but with the 2022 Games being in Beijing, that’s a major business opportunity for the league.

Would it be the worst thing if they did both? As long as the players would be on board, I don’t see an issue. I think it could be a lot of fun.

9. With Washington’s Alex Ovechkin set to pass Sergei Fedorov in career points by a Russian-born player — he’s six away after Monday’s game — I thought it would be a good time to ask Malkin about hockey in his home country and sort of the state of the Russian player.

Malkin said he’s “proud” of what some of his countrymen have been able to do, name-checking Ovechkin (on pace for an eighth season of 50 or more goals) and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov (NHL-best 75 points in 46 games).

There’s also other highly skilled players in Artemi Panarin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko, plus some solid defensemen (Ivan Provorov and Dmitry Orlov spring to mind) and a pair of Vezina Trophy winners/finalists in Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

“Russia loves hockey, first of all,” Malkin said. “When the national team plays, everyone watches on TV. Russia has always had so many good players — Fedorov, [Igor] Larionov. Lots of huge names.”

10. Malkin also lobbied for Russian players to come to the NHL and stay, believing it’s the best league in the world.

“If you have a chance, you need to come to NHL and try,” Malkin said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 years old or 25. Just try. It’s No. 1, for sure. Every best player plays here, for sure.

“If you [want] to be better and you want a challenge against the best players, you be here. Be better every day, play against good teams. Of course I’m proud of Ovechkin and Kucherov are doing right now.”

11. I dug into some recent numbers of current Russian NHL players, and it’s roughly the same this season as it has been for the past couple years. Maybe a tad better.

Thirty-eight Russian-born players have played at least one game in the NHL this season. That number was 39 in 2017-18 and 42 and 41 in the two years before that.

Last year actually saw Russian players produce more offense than they have in quite some time, with those 39 players combining to score 428 goals and register 1,048 points.

This season, Russian-born skaters should meet or exceed those numbers. Russian players currently have 204 goals and 586 points a handful of games past the halfway point of the NHL season.

12. In talking to Malkin, I realized that I had ever asked him who he idolized while growing up in Magnitogorsk.

He cited watching Detroit and the Russian Five in the late 1990s — Fedorov, Larionov, Slava Fetisov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Vladimir Konstantinov.

“I don’t know. It’s a hard question,” Malkin said with a smile. “I watched Detroit, Russian Five. You always hear, ‘Russian Five, Russian Five.’

“My style is more [like] Fedorov. Best player so far. He plays center. He plays wing. He can do everything. He’s a really, really smart guy and a smart player.”

13. Ever wonder why they call Marcus Pettersson “Dragon?”

Yes, seriously, that’s his nickname dating back to his time in Anaheim.

On Friday, before Pettersson played his first game at Honda Center since being traded to Pittsburgh, I asked him where the nickname came from.

Turns out it originated in Sweden. Pettersson had a high school basketball coach that called him and another kid “Dragons.” For no apparent reason, either.

Then one day in Anaheim, and perhaps because he’s tall and lanky, someone asked Pettersson if he ever played hoops.

Pettersson has always been kind of so-so on the sport but relayed the story from his home country.

“I just told the story as a joke, and they thought it was hilarious,” Pettersson said.

14. Turns out Derek Grant, a teammate of Pettersson’s in Anaheim who was there for the original story, retold it in Pittsburgh, and the nickname has remerged.

“I didn’t think it would stick,” Pettersson said. “Somehow it did.”

15. I talked to goaltending coach Mike Buckley about a few things in Anaheim, most notably what has helped Matt Murray get right again after returning from injury.

He brought up the team’s overall play and the emergence of Casey DeSmith as reasons why — the latter because he’s been able to shoulder some of the load and also the competitive environment it has helped create with Murray.

One of the things that outsiders have brought up relative to Murray is how he’s been taller in his net. Buckley said no tactical adjustment has been made, though he does think it may be at least a little bit true.

“He’s more confident,” Buckley said, smiling and standing up straight.

16. Another thing Buckley should get credit for this season is the emergence of DeSmith.

Both are New Hampshire guys and, like Murray, have a pretty good history together.

The biggest thing that has led to DeSmith’s breakout year, Buckley said, is how much better he’s been able to read the game. It’s similar to what has made Murray so successful.

“That’s where he’s made the biggest jump,” Buckley said. “He’s always been a pretty good play-reader and has anticipated well. But to catch up with how quickly it happens at this level, that was a big jump for him. I think he’s really adapted well with that.”

17. I also asked Buckley how the Penguins plan to manage the dynamic of Murray and DeSmith and what that might mean for each guy if both are playing as well as they have recently.

“I think it’s one game at a time,” Buckley said. “I think that healthy competition … keep that going right up until playoffs.”

If DeSmith can get this out of Murray simply by playing well, I think it makes his new extension — worth $1.25 million per season — even more of a bargain.

18. I don’t think it will take until Feb. 10 for Justin Schultz to come back.

That would be his original target date given the four-month timeline we were originally given, but the fact that he skated in full equipment for the first time last Friday likely bodes well for him joining the team soon.

The only complicating factor here is that, after this road trip, the Penguins have another week off because of their bye week and the All-Star Game.

Hard to imagine Schultz not being back with the team out of the break, if not before.

19. What will Jim Rutherford do at the trade deadline? Let’s use some deductive reasoning.

I have a tough time seeing Rutherford letting this deadline pass and not combining a good young goalie (Tristan Jarry) and a defenseman (they have nine) and doing something to help the NHL club. Rutherford is in win-now mode. He has a terrific opportunity to improve his team.

What needs to be better? Easy: third-line center. Their wings are fine. Defense has been good, too, and it’s about to get much better. They’re set at goalie, and they have three fourth-line centers.

It’s literally the only piece of this team that’s incomplete. I just don’t see how Rutherford can look at Tampa, Toronto and Washington and think the Penguins are getting enough from that position.

20. San Jose is my absolutely favorite road city. We get asked this question a lot — where do you like to go on the road? Well, here. And north of here.

Heaven for me came Wednesday. As soon as I landed in San Jose, I hopped onto a train bound for San Francisco and eventually wound up at Haight-Ashbury, the Grateful Dead/hippie Mecca.

Spent the afternoon and evening walking around and listening to music, doing some shopping and had dinner at Magnolia Brewery … just an amazing time.

If you’re a fan of the Dead’s music, or just a different-looking scene, I can’t recommend the Haight enough. And San Francisco, in general. What an awesome place.

Jason Mackey: [email protected] and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published January 15, 2019 8:00 AM

#Jason Mackey #Pittsburgh Post-Gazette #pittsburgh penguins #20 Penguins Thoughts

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thornburgrealty · 6 years

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flauntpage · 6 years

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One Thing the NHL Award Voters Didn't Screw Up Was Taylor Hall as MVP

The 2018 NHL Awards show may have felt like it lasted five hours but it only ran [checks watch] two hours and 15 minutes? Holy shit, that can't be right, can it? I've seen Greg Maddux pitch quicker baseball games than that. How did giving out a handful of sports trophies become such a bloated event?

Watch how quickly I can whittle this show down to 90 minutes:

CUT OUT THE LADY BYNG AWARD — Nobody cares and voting (more below) shows voters don't really care, either. Give it away before the show the way the Academy Awards give out the best foreign language animated documentary editing awards weeks earlier in the basement of a Dave & Busters.

NO MORE MAGIC SHOWS — Did we really watch a seven-minute "is this your card" trick? Is this because the show is in Vegas? Let those oiled up dancing guys present an award if you want some Vegas flavor. Stopping the show for a rejected set piece from the Now You See Me 3 script isn't something anyone wants.

NO MORE VIDEO GAME COVER REVEALS — This is very much me being old and shaking my fist at a cloud, but sell your video game during commercial breaks, assholes.

NO MORE JACOB TREMBLAY INTERVIEWS — A trained child actor can't make uncomfortable hockey players fun. Just let the kid host next year.

Listen to the latest episode of Biscuits, VICE Sports' hockey podcast

NO MORE SAP STAT THINGIES — Nothing says excitement and pageantry and fun like some dorky-ass facts and figures about some dude's stats. Again: SELL YOUR PRODUCT DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS.

I think if you give me enough time I can trim this show to an action-packed hour but we need to move on to the awards and discuss who won, who should have won, and which voters made us laugh the hardest.

NORRIS TROPHY

Winner: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning Runners-up: PK Subban, Nashville Predators; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Did they get it right? Yes. Hedman, however, is lucky the PHWA gave Doughty his lifetime achievement Norris Trophy a few years ago because his numbers were good enough this season to warrant the sympathy trophy.

What was the funniest vote? There are a lot of worthy choices (Jaccob Slavin was fifth on a ballot!) but this space is dedicated to the PHWA voter who thought Dougie Hamilton was the second-best defenseman in the NHL this season. Hamilton was named on just three of 164 ballots—he was voted fifth on the two others—so either one renegade voter saw something no one else did or a local Calgary media member got too close to the situation.

CALDER TROPHY

Winner: Mat Barzal, New York Islanders Runners-up: Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks; Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes

Did they get it right? Yes. And by "they" I mean the PHWA voters and not Lou Lamoriello, whose archaic hair rules left Barzal with a much shorter haircut than what he could have had on a special night.

What was the funniest vote? There was nothing too egregious but I'd like to say hi to the Boston voter who felt Jake DeBrusk was the fifth-best rookie in the NHL.

LADY BYNG TROPHY

Winner: William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights Runners-up: Ryan O'Reilly, Buffalo Sabres; Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

Did they get it right? Sure. Who knows? Karlsson seems nice. I'm sure he says "sir" and "madam" and knows which one is the salad fork at the royal castle. I have no idea why this award exists.

What was the funniest vote? This award is dumb but the criteria is very clear — be gentlemanly. So most voters just look for guys with a lot of points and few penalty minutes. The problem with that is it leaves a blind spot that leads to Auston Matthews finishing eighth in voting (with six first-place votes) and Connor McDavid finishing 10th (with two first-place votes). Why is this funny?

McDavid was hit with an abuse of officials penalty in January and Matthews mocked a referee a few days earlier by pointing at the net after scoring a goal because an earlier goal was disallowed. Were those two things fantastic? You bet. Would I like to see more of this? Oh yeah.

But it should disqualify them from getting any votes for "gentlemanly" play during that season. You may as well have a Tallest Player Award and give it to Mats Zuccarello.

SELKE TROPHY

Winner: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings Runners-up: Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers; Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

Did they get it right? No. I mean, I guess not. I don't know. Why is there a best defensive forward award but not a best offensive defenseman award? More sports need extremely narrow awards for specific positions. Baseball can adopt a best infielder base runner. Football can honor the best tight end route runners. But apparently Kopitar wasn't as good this year as he has been in the past. They should just give it to Bergeron every year until he decides it's time to give it to Brad Marchand.

What was the funniest vote? Nobody voted for a defenseman or goaltender so this vote is devoid of humor.

JACK ADAMS AWARD

Winner: Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights Runners-up: Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche; Bruce Cassidy, Boston Bruins

Did they get it right? Yes. In any other season, Bednar runs away with this and there's a case to be made he deserved it more than Gallant, but guiding an expansion team to a 100-point season made this automatic. They survived two months during the first half without Marc-Andre Fleury and still cruised to a playoff spot.

What was the funniest vote? I'd like to meet the two people who felt Randy Carlyle of the Anaheim Ducks was the second-best coach, which means they felt Carlyle did a better job than either Gallant or Bednar. I'm putting my money on one of those votes coming from Steve Simmons.

VEZINA TROPHY

Winner: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators Runners-up: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning; Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Did they get it right? Yeah, but who did John Gibson piss off among the general managers who voted for this award? Somehow he finished sixth behind Frederik Andersen, who somehow finished fourth with a first-place vote despite a pedestrian .918 save percentage. Apparently the Hockey Men can be just as bad at voting as people who Never Played The Game.

What was the funniest vote? Easily, it's the guy who felt Andersen was the best goaltender in the NHL this season. We likely will never figure out which GM cast this vote, but my guess is Marc Bergevin. Why? Because Andersen went 3-0 with a .950 save percentage against the Canadiens this season, and that's the sort of dumbass shit Bergevin would do. If this ever gets confirmed, please tweet a screenshot of this paragraph with the link to the story, because clicks are always nice.

GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Winner: George McPhee, Vegas Golden Knights Runners-up: Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg Jets; Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Did they get it right? No! Here's the thing—we give the Jack Adams to the coach of the team we all thought would be crap before the season that turned out to be awesome. The reason we think a team is crap is how the GM builds it. So how can Gallant be the best coach if he's simply coaching the team assembled by the best GM? You can't have both! This is also a flawed award because Cheveldayoff (he should have won!) slowly built the team over many years. McPhee did some nice things in the expansion draft but tricking Dale Tallon into giving you two studs for nothing isn't a big deal when Tallon probably still falls for the "got your nose" trick.

What was the funniest vote? This award is chosen by a swath of front-office and media types, so please let me meet the person who decided Ron Hextall was GM of the Year so I can take an Amtrak down to Philadelphia and have a Yuengling with this local.

HART TROPHY

Winner: Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils Runners-up: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche; Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Did they get it right? Yes! Surprisingly! And the vote was close—Hall edged MacKinnon by 70 points and held a 72-60 advantage in first-place votes. Hall had a slightly better MVP case and he won by a margin that presented that case. I went through all the ballots, looked very closely, and it turns out nobody casted a Hart vote for Adam Larsson.

What was the funniest vote? There wasn't anything all that "what an idiot" funny but a very "huh, that's funny" vote was Sidney Crosby getting just one fifth-place vote and nothing else. He had 89 points in 82 games, finished 10th in scoring but found himself tied in voting with Eric Staal and behind Artemi Panarin. It feels a little like the end of an era but also a little like taking Crosby for granted. Maybe it's both.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 6 years

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One Thing the NHL Award Voters Didn’t Screw Up Was Taylor Hall as MVP

The 2018 NHL Awards show may have felt like it lasted five hours but it only ran [checks watch] two hours and 15 minutes? Holy shit, that can’t be right, can it? I’ve seen Greg Maddux pitch quicker baseball games than that. How did giving out a handful of sports trophies become such a bloated event?

Watch how quickly I can whittle this show down to 90 minutes:

CUT OUT THE LADY BYNG AWARD — Nobody cares and voting (more below) shows voters don’t really care, either. Give it away before the show the way the Academy Awards give out the best foreign language animated documentary editing awards weeks earlier in the basement of a Dave & Busters.

NO MORE MAGIC SHOWS — Did we really watch a seven-minute “is this your card” trick? Is this because the show is in Vegas? Let those oiled up dancing guys present an award if you want some Vegas flavor. Stopping the show for a rejected set piece from the Now You See Me 3 script isn’t something anyone wants.

NO MORE VIDEO GAME COVER REVEALS — This is very much me being old and shaking my fist at a cloud, but sell your video game during commercial breaks, assholes.

NO MORE JACOB TREMBLAY INTERVIEWS — A trained child actor can’t make uncomfortable hockey players fun. Just let the kid host next year.

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NO MORE SAP STAT THINGIES — Nothing says excitement and pageantry and fun like some dorky-ass facts and figures about some dude’s stats. Again: SELL YOUR PRODUCT DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS.

NORRIS TROPHY

Winner: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning Runners-up: PK Subban, Nashville Predators; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

CALDER TROPHY

Winner: Mat Barzal, New York Islanders Runners-up: Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks; Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes

Did they get it right? Yes. And by “they” I mean the PHWA voters and not Lou Lamoriello, whose archaic hair rules left Barzal with a much shorter haircut than what he could have had on a special night.

What was the funniest vote? There was nothing too egregious but I’d like to say hi to the Boston voter who felt Jake DeBrusk was the fifth-best rookie in the NHL.

LADY BYNG TROPHY

Winner: William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights Runners-up: Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo Sabres; Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

Did they get it right? Sure. Who knows? Karlsson seems nice. I’m sure he says “sir” and “madam” and knows which one is the salad fork at the royal castle. I have no idea why this award exists.

But it should disqualify them from getting any votes for “gentlemanly” play during that season. You may as well have a Tallest Player Award and give it to Mats Zuccarello.

SELKE TROPHY

Winner: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings Runners-up: Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers; Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/gyk8z3/washington-capitals-alex-ovechkin-destroyed-his-critics-with-stanley-cup-win-over-vegas-golden-knights?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=evk93a&site=sports

Did they get it right? No. I mean, I guess not. I don’t know. Why is there a best defensive forward award but not a best offensive defenseman award? More sports need extremely narrow awards for specific positions. Baseball can adopt a best infielder base runner. Football can honor the best tight end route runners. But apparently Kopitar wasn’t as good this year as he has been in the past. They should just give it to Bergeron every year until he decides it’s time to give it to Brad Marchand.

What was the funniest vote? Nobody voted for a defenseman or goaltender so this vote is devoid of humor.

JACK ADAMS AWARD

Winner: Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights Runners-up: Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche; Bruce Cassidy, Boston Bruins

Did they get it right? Yes. In any other season, Bednar runs away with this and there’s a case to be made he deserved it more than Gallant, but guiding an expansion team to a 100-point season made this automatic. They survived two months during the first half without Marc-Andre Fleury and still cruised to a playoff spot.

What was the funniest vote? I’d like to meet the two people who felt Randy Carlyle of the Anaheim Ducks was the second-best coach, which means they felt Carlyle did a better job than either Gallant or Bednar. I’m putting my money on one of those votes coming from Steve Simmons.

VEZINA TROPHY

Winner: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators Runners-up: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning; Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/nek53q/the-ottawa-senators-need-to-relocate-if-eugene-melnyk-doesnt-sell-the-team?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=evk93a&site=sports

What was the funniest vote? Easily, it’s the guy who felt Andersen was the best goaltender in the NHL this season. We likely will never figure out which GM cast this vote, but my guess is Marc Bergevin. Why? Because Andersen went 3-0 with a .950 save percentage against the Canadiens this season, and that’s the sort of dumbass shit Bergevin would do. If this ever gets confirmed, please tweet a screenshot of this paragraph with the link to the story, because clicks are always nice.

GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Winner: George McPhee, Vegas Golden Knights Runners-up: Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg Jets; Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Did they get it right? No! Here’s the thing—we give the Jack Adams to the coach of the team we all thought would be crap before the season that turned out to be awesome. The reason we think a team is crap is how the GM builds it. So how can Gallant be the best coach if he’s simply coaching the team assembled by the best GM? You can’t have both! This is also a flawed award because Cheveldayoff (he should have won!) slowly built the team over many years. McPhee did some nice things in the expansion draft but tricking Dale Tallon into giving you two studs for nothing isn’t a big deal when Tallon probably still falls for the “got your nose” trick.

HART TROPHY

Winner: Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils Runners-up: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche; Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

What was the funniest vote? There wasn’t anything all that “what an idiot” funny but a very “huh, that’s funny” vote was Sidney Crosby getting just one fifth-place vote and nothing else. He had 89 points in 82 games, finished 10th in scoring but found himself tied in voting with Eric Staal and behind Artemi Panarin. It feels a little like the end of an era but also a little like taking Crosby for granted. Maybe it’s both.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

One Thing the NHL Award Voters Didn’t Screw Up Was Taylor Hall as MVP syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

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