Doubleheader Saturday highlights a healthy NHL
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 | 05:05 PM ET
For a few years now, those who know me would agree that I have been quick to defend the quality of the post-lockout NHL game.
For many in the media world, it is often easy to sit back and take shots at the game. After all, a negative perspective on the game is much easier to come up with than finding a positive slant and it seldom needs any creativity to produce.
People love to complain, and many relish in other people’s failures. Unfortunately, it is a part of human nature.
I would much rather spend time and energy finding the good in people, and in this case, finding and talking about the good in our game. I have never understood why so many people who rely on a healthy and successful National Hockey League for their livelihood, spend so much time bashing the quality of the game and focusing on all the things they dislike about it, when by doing so, they are jeopardizing their own professional existence.
Our game is good
For me, this past weekend was another great reminder of how good the game can be. How skilled the top players are. How competitive a league this is. How high the quality of people there are.
Last Saturday, Jim Hughson and I had the privilege of doing two games in one day on Hockey Night in Canada. With a 1:00 p.m. MT game in Edmonton with the Oilers taking on the Avalanche, and an 8:00 p.m. game later that evening in Calgary where the Flames hosted the Wild, there was ample time to travel and broadcast both.
Jim and I were really looking forward to the experience of doing the doubleheader at such an important time of the season, and with so much on the line, it was the games that ended up being the stars of the day. Both games were wildly entertaining and showcased some of the incredible talent the NHL has to offer.
It all started in Edmonton, where the red-hot Oilers continued to dazzle their faithful fans with an electrifying brand of hockey that has everyone in the Alberta capital feeling like it’s 1980 again. This bunch of young and inexperienced Oilers - playing in yet another must-win game against the team they are chasing - treated Jim and I and a national audience to a wild ride. With 12 goals on the afternoon, and standout performances by the Oilers Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner, and a milestone 1,000th career assist by Colorado’s future Hall of Famer Joe Sakic, the past, the present and the future of the game was on full display. And disappoint us it did not.
The Oilers’ 7-5 win kept their playoff hopes alive, and with seven goals in the third period alone, fans in the stands and those watching on HNIC got exactly what they tuned in for - action, intensity and offense.
Iginla takes charge
The second game started off a bit more cautiously, as the Wild and Flames felt each other out early, and were conscious of not making an early mistake that might cost them the game.
Minnesota is known for their defensive game, and getting behind them early in a game is difficult to recover from and not always a treat to watch. The game was a chess match early, but took off in the second thanks to a spectacular end-to-end shorthanded effort by superstar-in-the-making Dion Phaneuf.
The Wild responded and grabbed the lead back, but with 23 seconds left captain Jarome Iginla, took hold of the game and tied the score. Fifty seconds into third, he was at it again. Iginla showed once again why he is one of the best players in the game, and proceeded to put in another MVP-like performance. Iginla’s hat trick not only helped Calgary hold on and win a 5-4 game, put him a mere two goals away from his second 50-goal season.
As the horn sounded to end the game in Calgary, Jim Hughson had called out 21 goals on the day, and hockey fans in Alberta and across Canada were treated to two great games.
Let’s face it, not every game is going to be as entertaining as these two, that’s unrealistic given 30 teams playing 82 games each. But the next time you read or hear about how bad the NHL game is, or how it’s too defensive, or that there isn’t enough scoring, go back and watch games like last weekend, or sit down and watch Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Jarome Iginla play hockey, or take the time to tune in the Montreal Canadiens.
In fact, right now while I am writing this, the Canadians just scored to make it 7-1 against the Ottawa Senators, and it’s just the second period (they won 7-5).
The 80s had brutal games, too
For the hockey critics who dislike today’s game, and pine for the return of the wide-open offensive days of the 80’s have to remember that there were plenty of brutal games back then, trust me, I played in a few. The difference was, only 30 to 40 per cent of them were ever televised, and so many would go unnoticed to all but the fans that were at the game.
The amount of 24-hour sports television programming that we have today also didn’t exist. In 2008 almost every single NHL game is on TV somewhere, and with so much sports programming to fill, mistakes made in a game no longer go unnoticed and are analyzed to death. With so many hours to fill, talk radio shows regularly spew more venom than praise at their local team. Positive programming only lasts for so long before the negative talk takes over. Most local sports talk radio shows are much like a soap opera plot, you can tune in after missing a month, and they are talking about the exact same thing.
The game may not be perfect, and not every game is going to be a beauty, but then again it never has been. The players are bigger, stronger, faster and as well trained and talented as they have ever been in history. Last Saturday will hopefully be the kind of hockey you can expect to see come playoff time.
If not, I’m sure there will be plenty of negative talk over the airwaves for you to listen to.
So sit back, tune in, and most of all, enjoy. The best is yet to come as the playoffs approach.
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Simpson on Hockey »
About the Author
Former NHL player, coach and broadcaster Craig Simpson brings over 18 years of expertise to his analyst role on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. Craig played 10 years in the NHL with Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Edmonton, capturing two Stanley Cups with the Oilers in 1988 and 1990. He continues to hold the distinction of being the last Oiler to score 50 goals in one season (56 goals in 1987-88).
Injuries cut his playing career short in 1995, but the native of London, Ont., didn’t stray far from the game. Simpson worked for eight seasons as a hockey commentator with TSN, FoxSportsNet and Rogers Sportsnet and was an assistant coach with the Oilers organization for the past four years (2003-07) before joining CBC.
Simpson lives in Edmonton with his wife and three children. Viewers can catch Craig on Saturday nights providing analysis and commentary during the second game on HNIC. His blog appears every Tuesday on CBCSports.ca.
Recent Posts
- The NHL’s best two teams face off
- Wednesday, May 21, 2008
- It's down to the final four
- Tuesday, May 6, 2008
- On To Round Two
- Friday, April 25, 2008
- Round One Begins
- Wednesday, April 9, 2008
- Was Playfair really the problem?
- Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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Comments
Bob
NYC
Great article Craig, It's about time somebody pointed out how great the present day NHL is! No other major sport is so stocked with quality talent as is the NHL. At no time in my 40 plus years of being a fan of hockey has the quality and quantity of the product been better!
Posted March 31, 2008 09:52 PM
Kevin
Ottawa
Great article, Craig. After hearing some of the preposterous ideas on changing the game (bigger nets being one of the more ludicrous ideas) to make it "better", it's nice to see someone in the media taking a stand and echoing the sentiment of most true hockey fans - leave the game alone!
The game is as good as it's ever been, and will only get beter with the emergence of some of today's best young players as they mature into superstars.
I hope to see a Pittsburgh/Washington matchup in the first round, as I think it will reinforce the fact that there is nothing wrong with the game, it's still the best and will continue to get better as the years pass!
Leave the NHL alone, it's a fantastic game!
Posted March 31, 2008 08:09 PM
vince kennie
Great to see that the top three leading scorers in the NHL are from outside North
America---what does that tell you about
the parity of hockey in other countries?
Vince Kennie
Posted March 29, 2008 06:47 PM
John Closs
Lanark
The post lockout game is wonderfully better.
Hockey was becoming a brutal game which did not allow skilled players to flourish. The Tampa Bay -Calgary Flames final was remarkable for brutality and the lack of calls by the referees.
Posted March 28, 2008 09:44 PM
Chris
Edmonton
Thank you for the article Craig! You have brought up some great points. Sure there are negative things people can say about the NHL but I guess one man's garbage is another man's treasure. For example, I have heard too many say that the NHL schedule where a team plays against their own division rivals too many times during the season gets stale. Well if it wasn't for that schedule the Oilers would likely not be in the hunt for that last playoff spot. It's great how if they could make this improbable run that the playoffs is a reality since they play those teams in their division. Go Oilers!
Posted March 28, 2008 03:46 PM
Len
Hey Craig, watch your comments about "talk radio shows regularly spew more venom" and "you can tune in after missing a month, and they are talking about the exact same thing"!!! That's no way to talk about Jeff Marek...
Posted March 27, 2008 07:20 PM
Brandon Marshall
It's easy to be positive when you're taking in games north of the border. Watching the Colorado @ Edmonton and Minnesota @ Calgary games were excellent. I wonder what he would say after watching a double header in Florida? I'd rather be doing anything else in Florida than watching hockey. After three years of having the Centre Ice Package, I can't stand where some of these teams are located. There are too many games with very little passion during the regular season in meaningless markets.
Less is More! If the NHL had fewer teams in great hockey markets, then EVERY game would be great. The Anaheim Ducks had a great team last year, but their success was a moot point because of their location. If that same organization would have been the Blackhawks, Red Wings, or any of the Canadian teams than their triumph would've been GREAT! Let's hope some good franchises make the finals this year.
Posted March 27, 2008 07:10 PM
Ian
Calgary
Simpson is right in the sense that the game is much better now....however, we still have to watch some defensive 'gems' where the outcome is a 2-1 win in OT (for example, Anaheim & LA last night).
I am a Flames fan but respect how K. Lowe is building an exciting, skating team with offence. We need more offence to make the game even better.
As per Matts comment above......I totally agree that the season is too long with too many games against the same team. If the league really wanted to make the game more exciting, they'd shorten the season for the sake of the players and the quality of the game. These players have a very long season. Why is the first round of the playoffs a best of seven series.....$$$$$$$$! The season must be shortened.
Will this happen -> not a chance. The owners are so greedy. After the lock out, salaries supposedly went down, however, ticket prices went up 30%. Most rinks had placed a "Thank You Fans" slogan around centre ice - is that for the extra $ the owners are taking from the fans? 82 games is way to many, and ticket prices are so high, most people I know can't afford to take their kids to a game where they have a half decent seat.
So, yes, the game is getting better, but the greed factor has gotten worse and could hurt the game in the long run.
Posted March 27, 2008 02:48 PM
Brian
Regarding CBC televising Toronto rather Montreal games! I have grown to dislike the Toronto Maple Leafs for this very reason. My annual wish is for them to not make the playoffs so they can't possibly be shown on CBC. This makes me feel warm on the inside.
Please show more Montreal games!!
Posted March 26, 2008 06:14 PM
Matt
Ottawa
Craig, you're right, the post-lockout GAME isnt too bad, but the post lockout LEAGUE is for s***
For one, players contracts need to be re-evaluated, no more of this "no trade clause" bull. Its a strategic part of the game to move players around, you cant have your cake and eat it too, its ridiculous. Add to that the fact that the salary caps that were set in place because of the lockout, are going right back to where they were before and the rich teams will win again and the poor teams will lose ...again.
And how about this "Zero tolerence" thing that Bettman started this year. Stiff and realistic fines and suspensions to players that "head hunt" or "intent to injure" or things of that sort, Wow Gary, what a great idea but oh wait, apparently it only applies to the players that teams can afford to lose for 20-30 games, (Pronger ????)
How about game scheduling ? Thats a fun one. Yes I realize its one of the hardest things to get right BUT right now we have 30 teams and a 82 game season. Why then must we see 1 team play 4 of the 30 teams 32 times total !?!?!?! I mean thats lunacy. I think we should drop to max 75-80 games (makes for less injuries, maybe have 4-6 games against divisonal rivals, drop the 2 worst teams (revenue wise) lets get another Canadian franchise up and running, maybe Winnpeg or Quebec again, or what about Halifax/Maritimes area???
Lets re-look at players equipment (ie goalies) and set some type of size restrictions to improve scoring.
I could go on but this is getting outta hand. So many others but you get the point. Either Bettman needs to get his act together or have him replaced, but either way, I dont see a bright future for the "new" NHL
Posted March 26, 2008 05:28 PM
doug smith
Kitchener
Simpson on Hockey us a positive spin that rings true. For the first time in many years I attended a NHL game in Buffalo where the Senators were ahead, then the home team came back and went ahead and then Ottawa broke local hearts and won 6 -3. The pace was amazing and the skills dazzling.
The only negatives were the Red light game killing breaks foisted by advertizing, the painful decibel levels and the ritualized fan frenzy.
Doug
Doug
Posted March 26, 2008 02:51 PM
kyle
centreHice
Simpson.... awsome article.
Tony, you raised a valid point.
When will CBC start airing these Montreal Canadian games?
remember when you had them on the french cbc channel?
Unless montreal has a one way contract with RDS I understand.
But lets look at it realistically... We have 31,000,000 residents in Canada.
22,000,000 being hockey fans.
6,000,000 being the die hard type
4,500,000 of those being leaf fans.
Now, lets say you aired a real hockey team, my bias going towards the habs in the east. Not only would we accumulate more hockey fans seems this is by far a way more exciting team.
our numbers would look a little more like this
31,000,000 populat.
29,000,000 hockey fans
16,000,000 being die hard habs fans
100,000 being leaf fans.
Much better equation if you ask me, now get start drafting the Habs TV contract up.
kyle
Posted March 26, 2008 02:28 PM
Erik K
"The game may not be perfect, and not every game is going to be a beauty, but then again it never has been."
Excellent points all around. In particular- on the sheer saturation of sports coverage making it easy to spot every little mistake, and, of course, to criticize. The basic tenets of the game haven't changed, it's still plenty exciting to watch. Sport is meant to be enjoyed.
Posted March 26, 2008 06:35 AM
Tony
Lethbridge
I think your suggestion of tuning in the Montreal Canadiens is a great idea. How about the people at CBC make it possible for those of us living out west!
Posted March 25, 2008 09:53 PM