Is this just a French/English thing?

 In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm an American. I have a great love for Canada for a lot of different reasons, and i like to keep tabs on the country - not in a creepy way, I swear - and I follow Canadian news and opinion and whatnot. But I'm not Canadian, despite how much we all think Minnesota should be Canada. So I can't access a bit of knowledge that I think I might understand if I was born a little further north. 

How was the rise of the Montreal Canadiens so quiet? We've been waiting on the Oilers to win the Cup, for the Maple Leafs to get anywhere in the postseason, but the Habs rose and fell and rose again soff the radar. 

The Leafs certainly take up a lot of the oxygen in coverage, but why do I know that the Jets were a disappointment this year and the Senators were a pleasant surprise? And yet the Canadiens made the Cup Final in the pandemic year, then plummeted to the bottom of the East and are now back in the Conference Final. They are going to lose, but the trajectory is strong!

Montreal seems like the type of place even Canadians would make fun of. Out of envy, in a lot of cases. It has an air about it, given it's close ties with continental Europe. Every time I see a picture of central Montreal, I can forget it's closer to me than New York City. Quebec is so much more French than, say, Louisiana, which is French-ish, by comparison. And people tease what is different. And yet, I just don't hear the jibes about the Habs like I do about other Canadian teams. 

I've heard all about Winnipeg coming back around, and then falling on their face this year, but maybe that is because the Jets are in the same division as the Wild. Similar as to why the Canucks are on my radar - they made a huge trade with Minnesota this year, so I knew all about how bad they have foundered. But why am I so in tune with the Flames and Senators? It's not just a broad Canadian bias from the American side of it. And the best NHL Media is Canadian anyway. And the Canadiens are an Original Six team. That should be sacrosanct, top of the page coverage, right?

Montreal made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in the weird Covid season of 20-21, and then were out of the playoffs until last year. Now, they made it to the Eastern Conference Final on the backs of a group of players not getting the attention they deserve. Has Nick Suzuki always been this good? I still know more about Juraj Slafkovsky because of the 2022 Olympics than his time in the NHL.

It looks like their road is almost over this year, but I will pay closer attention to the Habs next year. I should have been paying attention this whole time. 

During the writing of this post, we learned of the passing of former Canadiens great Claude Lemieux. Condolences to those who knew and loved him.

Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

The Blue Jackets have this image in my brain of this young expansion team still trying to figure it out. In truth, the Blue Jackets have existed longer than the Minnesota North Stars did. And the history is tortured, not only on the ice, but especially off the ice. Not enough compassion is given to our friends in central Ohio. RIP to Bill Davidge, somehow the "long time" broadcaster of the Blue Jackets. 

Total Eclipse of the Splash

  

It all comes down to this. One game for an entire, hockey rich land to hang on and keep their hope alive. Hope to etch their names on the Cup, just like so many that waved their flag before. Or just like that, it could be over. After the the Lightning and Habs finish game 7 in Tampa tonight, a place that everyone associates with hockey success could be done in the first round, with no more representation until next October.

Yes, it sure is strange to think that we might not have a team from Florida in the Playoffs after tonight. 

Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

One thing I can tell you for sure is that team web sites aren't unbiased news sources. The main headline is the preview for their homestand opener against the Wild. Sure, I guess that is fine. Until you realize this game was already played, and it ended as a heartbreaker for Detroit. 

Maybe everyone is off for Easter. 

The Canucks are probably going to be all right, right?

 

I would argue that despite the records, and the Blues victory over Vancouver, they are the team on a worse trajectory than the Canucks, given that Vancouver had assets that they moved for very good talent, play in a thriving NHL market and aren't obviously cursed. 

But man, it's hard to look at that picture of Elias Petterson hunched over his awkwardly angled stick, with the puck starting to get get away from him already and think "yeah, everything is going to be all right there."

Conferences done right

 I was watching college basketball today, and my son and I were chatting. I noted that we are getting to the end of the season, so now teams are playing a lot of tournaments. Next week, they are starting the national championship tournament. This week, they are playing conference tournaments. My son asked a fantastic question.

"What's a conference?"

In college basketball, that's pretty fuzzy these days. but something the NHL still seems to care about, perhaps to a fault. No more has that been evident than this season, particularly when looking at the Utah Mammoth and Minnesota Wild.

Before we dig into those, let's first talk about what is good about conferences. Familiarity breeds contempt. The rivalry factor makes the regular season a little bit spicier, rather than rote. Cross conference games are interesting, playing teams you don't get to see regularly. Of course there is also the cost containment of having the conferences geographically centered.  And then, the post season enflames all those things, emphasizing rivalry, allowing for fresher teams with reduced travel in the first couple of rounds.

This season, it looks like the playoff structure will cause results that appear unfaCir. I'm a Wild fan, the team most feel is getting slighted, but I don't feel that way. The Stanley Cup, one way or another, is likely to involve a path through Colorado or Dallas, maybe both. After that, allegedly, it should be a piece of cake. But really, if winning the Cup necessarily would involve beating those teams, why does it matter WHEN you play them?

This year is a one year fluke. Anything can happen when you reach the Playoff. Utah might have a clearer path to run deeper towards the Championship. but they haven't improved their odds of winning the Cup. I'm looking forward to an intense series with the Stars, maybe more than one with a team like the Ducks. Bring it on. 

Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

All of those kids are going to be up there in their white polos and khaki pants, thinking they are going to Nationwide to get a literal blue jacket. I'm not trying to make too many generalities, but I have to believe there isn't a huge "spelling prodigy/hockey fan from central Ohio" crossover demographic. A blue jacket would be a nice touch though.

Oh, and for whatever it's worth, Isac Lundestrom would be the toughest name to spell. A lot of strong phonetics on the roster, but the one A Isac would be a real curveball.