CBC-Sports

I'm officially a hockey junkie

March 5, 2009 11:16 AM | Posted by   Marc Crawford  

As a coach for over 13 years in the NHL, I must admit I’ve never really been a huge fan of trade deadline deals. I always thought that the hype was too severe and the promised payoff was never even close to what was being forecast.

Well, that’s all changed now! I became a fan. A Super Fan, if I may say so, and I saddled up to the feeding trough and I ate up the mountains of coverage that swamped the airwaves across North America. I never thought I’d be so excited to hear where Eric Reitz was going to end up calling home, but in the end… I was.

Totally and completely captivated from sunrise - actually it was still dark on the West Coast as I awoke - until sunset late in the evening when the last talk show ended.

Opinions? I had a few of my own Wednesday.

I’ll admit it, so many in fact, that I became intoxicated by the possibilities of what might happen if the Philadelphia Flyers cleared enough cap space to actually add prized defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. Could they make it work? I fretted over the dilemma Bruins’ general manager Peter Chiarelli had if he was to acquire Twin Tower Chris Pronger. Was the price too much? And I’m ashamed to say that I did shed a tear or two as the countdown reached the final 15 seconds and the Canucks hadn’t traded … for anyone.

What reasons did they all have for making, or not making these moves? I was confused, mystified and yet strangely aroused.

In all, 22 trades plus four waiver wire pick ups, involving 47 players and 20 draft picks. Boy, that sure was a lot of data to digest, but I loved it. I couldn’t get enough of the constant evaluation, or the perpetual speculation. The continual regurgitation of whether or not the Atlanta Thrashers should look long term, or if the Anaheim Ducks are, in fact, changing philosophy.

It all left me wanting more information, more statistics, and I found myself dying to be in a war room …anywhere.

I wanted answers. I wanted the truth, and I knew I could handle the truth.

In the end, the voice of reason (my wife) spoke and told me to turn off the four televisions, three radios, and two computers I had been glued to all day.

“You above anyone else should know there will only be one winner when it’s all said and done,” she said. “The other 29 will go back to the drawing board.”

I hated coming down off the high, but wait, only 365 days until the next frenzy. I’m hooked now.

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