Finger Licking Good

Wow.

I’m still kind of speechless at the way that game against the Panthers ended. I mean, it’s one thing for players to chirp each other on the ice, but that commentary from an official team broadcaster was something else.

Certainly, hockey fans in Vancouver are no stranger to controversial comments made on the ice, usually by the Canucks players. By all reports, Kesler and Burrows were two of the “best” chirpers in the game at one point. Always needling opponents; trying to get them off their game.

Who can forget Kesler asking David Backes to “Say hi to Kelly”?

And over those years, the Canucks have received as well as they gave, especially the twins.

The difference, though, is that the taunts against Daniel and Henrik didn’t just stay on the ice. It has not been uncommon to see personal attacks openly thrown at the Sedins by media and player alike, with no attempt or pretense of keeping it off the record. Denigrating two of the game’s most affable and consistently top tier players seems to just be second nature to people around the league.

I’m not going to list off the litany of insults thrown at them, but whether it’s Benn and Seguin or Bill Simmons or some no-talent hack, the difference is that when it comes to the Sedins, the personal attacks don’t just stay on the ice.

So here we are on Monday night, and Shawn Thornton was doing what he does best, which has nothing to do with actually playing hockey. Out on the ice before the start of overtime, he and Alex Petrovic had quite the chuckle at something said to the Sedins. Now, to be fair, before the puck drops to start each period is usually when Thornton gets his most ice time, so it’s probably natural for him to go out on the ice. But whatever it was he said, and neither Daniel nor Henrik want to make it an issue, it was enough to fire up both Sedins to such an extent that Daniel didn’t even celebrate the winning goal with his teammates. Instead, he turned around and skated over the Panthers’ bench, presumably to congratulate Thornton on the wittiness of his quip.

It was just at that moment, as he turned to face the Panthers’ bench with arms raised in the air, that Panthers’ broadcaster Denis Potvin called Daniel Sedin a low-life. Now, I don’t know Daniel Sedin, so I can’t say whether he is of low moral character, but I do know he has never been accused of domestic violence.

Speaking of Denis Potvin, he did not stop at the name calling. During the ensuing scrum at the benches, he threw out the most nonsensical insult I have heard since elementary school (coincidentally, that is also the last time Denis Potvin was actually still relevant in the hockey world). Anyway, Potvin was beside himself and let rip this doozy: “I see the Sedins are pointing fingers now. Normally they only use those fingers to lick the peanut butter off of their bread.”

Now, I’m not exactly sure what that means, but clearly he was enraged at the Sedins. Either that or his mind wandered and he was already thinking about the pay-per-view at the hotel when he got to Calgary:

But hey, if you’re in Vancouver, there’s nothing quite like the Swedish Touch:

Now that’s what I call finger licking good.

 

 

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