KK Members' Blog

You Had Me at Draft Picks Four and Five

by Samantha on 08/01/10 at 06:56 AM ET
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Greetings from Portland, Oregon, temporary home of eight picks from the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. That includes the 4th and 5th overall picks, Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter. It wasn’t always this way. Last year at this time, the Portland Winterhawks were very nearly the worst team in the WHL, we hadn’t made it into the second round of the playoffs and we certainly weren’t home to a small minivan full of NHL prospects.

What a difference a year, a new owner and a few well-chosen prospects makes. Today, I paid out the second of several installments on Winterhawks season tickets.  It’s the first time I’ve ever owned season tickets to anything, even hockey. This is in addition to my cable package with the NHL Network and the NHL Center Ice Package.

Since I’m investing in hockey the equivalent of a down payment on a small car, it got me to thinking about why we even watch the game in the first place. It’s violent, loud, bloody, smelly, vulgar and ruthless. No place for a respectable girl, my grandmother would say. Why, then, do I love the NHL Network, bobbleheads, fatheads, beer and shameless use of profanity? No clue about the fatheads and the bobbleheads, but I do know this: 

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Sam’s rule for outrageous salary demands, flying elbows, etc.

by Samantha on 02/06/10 at 09:06 PM ET
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I’m less than one week from finally learning all 87 rules in the NHL Rulebook. With the Olympics imminent and all the trade talk in the air, I’m moving on to the IIHF Rulebook and the business of hockey. On the latter, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the Kovalchuk trade. And don’t even start me on the elbow that Patrice Cormier put on Mikael Tam.

When you see things like the death of Brian Burke’s son or the loss of Ryan O’Byrne’s mother, it makes things like brain-damaging elbows and outrageous salary/trade demands even uglier.  Therefore, I propose my own addition to the current NHL Rulebook. Again, I don’t consider myself an expert just yet, so here is my admittedly amateur take on this whole circus:

1. I don’t know what’s more horrifying, Kovalchuk saying no to $101 million or the reason he did it. What have we come to in this world that anyone in any profession anywhere says no to a nine-figure salary offer AND still stays employed? Even more horrifying:

2. I read somewhere that acquiring Patrice Cormier in the deal was apparently a “must” for Waddell. Let me first say that I love a good clean hit. I love the sound of guys crashing into the glass and I firmly believe that fighting is one of the rules that was meant to be broken. But that hit on Tam was cowardly and unacceptable. If you’re good enough to get drafted into the NHL and be named captain of your World Junior team, you’re good enough to find a more honorable way to win.

3. That being said, I propose my own addition to the NHL Rulebook: Humility. Here it is: 88.1, Humility. Players are responsible at all times for understanding that the world does not revolve around them and that they are fortunate to be in the NHL at all. Players who do not endeavor to appreciate their good fortune and/or who try to pout their way to a higher salary or trade shall be subject to removal from the NHL and permanent reassignment to an ordinary day job in a windowless office with a salary cap of $60,000 a year before taxes.

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Applying the NHL Rulebook to life

by Samantha on 01/31/10 at 06:06 PM ET
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Hello all.  This is my first posting here, so here’s a little about me:

I’m a hockey fan from Arizona (pre-Coyotes). Which means I grew up loving hockey, but not really understanding it. For example, I thought a short-handed goal meant it was scored unassisted.  Really.

I’m rectifying that by learning all 87 rules in the current 2009-2010 NHL Rulebook. You can see the results here: http://87in107.blogspot.com.

I’m still learning, so I don’t claim to be an expert on trades, stats, or scouting reports.  But I can tell you that every rule in the book also applies to life. Here are a few examples of what I’ve learned so far:     

—I now understand the expression “that’s hockey.”  Almost all of the rules include “in the judgment of the referee” or “at the discretion of the referee.” Translation: It’s not fair and there’s not a lot we can do about it. Which perhaps is why the NHL did not include in the rules “at the discretion of fans who dispute a call by yelling and cursing at referees, who can’t hear them anyway.” 

—Not a lot of the rules say you can’t do something. Like laws, they just define the offense and outline the punishment. So, for things like hits to the head - will the NHL ban them or just impose a stronger punishment?

—The goalie’s restricted area where he can play the puck needs to go. A) Most of them are the same size as a Christmas tree: they need room to move. B) For every one rule in the book on players, there are at least two for goaltenders. There are enough restrictions on them - I say give them a break and at least give them some space.

P.S. Thanks for the posting on the top 10 fights -  I personally believe that no hockey game is complete without at least one major penalty for a scrap.

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