Cheers and Jeers – Mar 23rd

The Good and the Bad of this past week.

It’s Friday. So we close out the "Week That Was" with our latest volume of… "Cheers and Jeers!"

This week, I ask for a phone hearing with Duncan Keith, Brendan Shanahan, The G-Man, and HNIC, but I let Shane Doan, Dan Murphy and Kes + Hank walk away scot-free.

JEERS to Duncan Keith. OF COURSE. Nothing more needs to be said.

JEERS to Brendan Shanahan for making a mess out of his next on-docket suspension to Duncan Keith. First, he schedules a phone hearing, then decided later in the day to ask Keith to waive his right to an in-person hearing. I’m not really sure what evidence or information Shanahan could have received in those few hours to change his mind to that degree, or if there was anything at all. Maybe he just changed his mind on his own. Regardless, it comes across as the league gauging the attitude of the media and fans generally before handing down a decision, which, is pretty bush-league. But when it comes to suspensions and discipline, the NHL is a ragtag outfit – especially compared to the NFL and NBA and the fines and suspensions that both of those leagues dole out.

CHEERS to Shane Doan for his statement following his 3-game suspension. Some people certainly might view his statement as wishy-washy and brown-nosey. I saw it as him taking ownership of his situation. So I applaud him for that. Compare this to how Brad Marchand responded to his suspension and you’ll see what I mean.

JEERS to Hockey Night in Canada for the way that they weighed on this incident. So they ran a post today talking about Daniel Sedin’s concussion. They started off well by interviewing Dr. Raj Attariwala (awesome name!) who is the Vancouver Giants team doctor. But who did the article interview next? Premier Christy Clark. WHAT?! Why on earth does the hockey community care what Christy Clark has to say about concussions in hockey and the NHL? Is she a medical authority?! NO. Does she have a background in hockey?! NO. Does she have ANYTHING to do with this incident in any way whatsoever?! NOOOOOOO. C’mon HNIC – you could have interviewed a blogger in his mom’s basement and he’d have had more valuable input than the bloody Premier.

CHEERS to Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin for their public involvement in You Can Play. We have praised the You Can Play project several times on this blog, and our support conitnues. Kesler and Sedin joined the growing list of players who have expressed their desire to help abolish homophobia and embrace inclusion amongst the sporting community. Based on their comments, it’s pretty clear that this isn’t just lip service on their part, that this is a cause in which they truly believe and are more than happy to support. I’m proud of these two guys.

JEERS to Tony Gallagher for flying off the deep end this week. He decided it was time to call for AV’s head after this season, that management OWES it to this team to bring in new coaching. Why, because he brought this team within a single win of the Stanley Cup last year, despite playing two defensemen short and with several core players battling through significant injury? I know, let’s fire the coach!

AV has coached this team back to the top of the Western Conference with home ice advantage for AT LEAST the first two round of this playoffs? Yeah, get rid of THAT guy. Because he’s deftly managed his lineup for several years, using advanced metrics to identify players’ strengths and weaknesses and deploying his players to maximize efficacy? What a dummy. And and then Gallagher tore into Alex Edler on the TEAM 1040 broadcast before the Stars game. It turns out Edler had one of his best games of the season. Yeah… Tony’s antics can be entertaining from time to time and his ability to compare players to holograms and vapour is top-notch. But he’s finally flown off the deep end and while I’m not sure its time to send him out to pasture just yet – it’s definitely time to give him a jeers.

CHEERS to Dan Murphy for "loosening the tie" a little yesterday during yesterday’s game. As he took to his twitter account yesteday, he was quite a bit more riled up, vocal and fiery than usual. I’m not much of a fan of his, because I find that he sticks to his "script" far too often. Usually when he gets into debates with folks on Twitter, he’s pretty short and rarely engages in prolongued discussion. But yesterday, he used the term "chickensh*t" and called out our own Cam Charron for his well-known policing of journalistic ideals. Good on ya, Murph – it’s nice to see you let it all hang out once in a while.

JEERS to me and my frickin’ car. Jeers to me for ignoring a problem I’ve had with my car for a couple of months now. But jeers to my car for blowing the brake hydraulics, costing me over $800 to get it fixed. NOT A GOOD TIME, MONEY GODS! That said, CHEERS to the guys fixing my car. They’re awesome and I need my car, and they made that happen. What a group of heroes.