Apr 18, 2015
Thumbs up to the fighting?
Dave Hodge's reaction to the Canucks-Flames fight nonsense might surprise, but his thumb is up. Not necessarily to the act itself but to the realization that what we saw Friday night seemed so out of place.
By Dave Hodge
My reaction to the Vancouver-Calgary fight nonsense might surprise you, as it did me. Normally, I'd be critical of it, saying it doesn't belong in the showcase event that a Canucks-Flames series ought to be. The Sedins and Johnny Gaudreau are supposed to be centre stage, not Derek Dorsett and Deryk Engelland.
But I found myself surprisingly upbeat about the fact that brawls have become so rare. There's no reason to plead with the NHL with deal with mayhem. It's as old as a silent movie. It looks funny now. You wonder how it was ever taken seriously. So I should say thumbs up to the realization that what we saw last night seemed so out of place.
Years ago, I wondered if there would be 10 new coaches between one NHL season and the next, and before I could be accused of picking a ridiculously high number, I was right. So it has been an annual exercise to see if the number of different coaches could reach double digits again. I guess I have to say thumbs down to the fact it generally seems possible. Thus far this time, there are vacancies in Buffalo, Toronto and Philadelphia.
My apologies if news of the day happens to make any of the remainder of this survey out of date, but new coaches are quite possible, if not likely, in San Jose and Boston, and surely Lou Lamoriello will appoint someone to replace him behind the New Jersey bench. It could go either way for Todd Nelson in Edmonton, and who knows about Mike Babcock in Detroit?. It would shock no one if Pittsburgh made a change, and that brings us to St. Louis. Could Ken Hitchcock's job be in jeopardy? It would be a crushing disappointment if the Blues lost in the first round. Go ahead and bet against 10, but make it a small bet.