Bethany's Hockey Rants

Category: Clint Malarchuk

Rook and UFA Season!

by Bethany on 07/01/09 at 01:12 AM ET
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So much has happened with the Blue Jackets, and I promise to get all caught up this week as my life has decided to calm down for a bit.  Free agency starts tomorrow and there are a few items of business to take care of before I hop into that mess.

First of all the Blue Jackets have been blessed with a new goaltending coach, David Rook.  Steve Mason of course is thrilled to have Rook apart of the organization. 

“If I’m playing poorly, he will not hesitate to tell me to pick up my game,” Mason said. “When things aren’t going well, he has been able to get me out of the rut.”

That’s a good thing for the Jackets.  Last season as Mason struggled to find his form, and having a goaltenders coach who has a history with Mason will certainly help.

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Jackets Searching for Interim Goalie Coach

by Bethany on 10/20/08 at 03:35 PM ET
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The Blue Jackets are looking to add an interim goalie coach.  Clint Malarchuk shot himself in the chin, and the Blue Jackets are now searching for someone to replace him temporarily as no decision has been made on his long term future with the club.  According to Puck-Rakers a decision could be made in the next two weeks.

And, in strange news Kris Russell practiced as a forward.  Why, you may ask?  Nobody really knows.  Portzline guesses that Hitch wants to keep Methot and/or Tollefsen in the lineup.  They both were a plus-1 on the night.  Random fact about Kris Russell, his twin brother, Ryan Russell is playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs as a center.

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Malarchuk

by Bethany on 10/16/08 at 07:49 PM ET
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This is from Jim Kelley at Sports Illustrated.  He feels that we need to help Malarchuk.  While I agree, definitely, I do also think that we need to do what is best for our hockey club.  Scott Howson has a very difficult decision on his hands.  I would not want to be in his shoes when it comes to making it.  I really don’t know what else to say.  It’s a horrible situation, and all I can say is that I hope he gets better soon, and gets the help that he needs.

But what the Jackets could do is what Malarchuk has tried to do most of his life: they could acknowledge that a member of their franchise, a part of their extended family, has a problem. They could allow him the time and professional help he needs to deal with his latest problem and they could at least consider assisting him, after a suitable period of recovery, in not only continuing his work with their goaltending talent, but speaking out about the difficulties of coping with a type of illness that far too many of us try to ignore.

Surely that would take courage. It would also mean taking a road less traveled. Hopefully, GM Scott Howson’s recent visit to Nevada to assess the situation is a step in that direction.

There would be risks, of course, but helping Malarchuk wouldn’t just be the right thing to do, it would be the courageous thing. He might have setbacks that create a public relations problem. It’s also possible that Malarchuk, knowing he has no reason to fear for his livelihood, would understand that he is no longer alone in his fight. He could take strength from that and perhaps recover faster and more completely than if he were to be abandoned at a time when he needs his hockey connection most.

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Update on Malarchuk

by Bethany on 10/09/08 at 09:44 PM ET
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The men of Puck-Rakers have been keeping us up to date on the Clint Malarchuk situation.  Here is the latest.

Blue Jackets goaltending coach Clint Malarchuk is recovering from a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the chin that he suffered Tuesday afternoon at his Nevada ranch.

His wife, Joan, told police the shooting was accidental.

The former NHL goaltender, perhaps best known for having his jugular vein severed during a 1989 game in Buffalo, was found by police bleeding profusely from the mouth and chin after he shot himself with a 22-caliber rifle, according to a Douglas County Sheriff’s report.

All the best to Clint and his family at this time, and I hope he makes a quick recovery.

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