There’s a concept in international best-on-best hockey that some causal fans may not be completely familiar with, mainly because I made it up just now: The double player.
It’s a player who’s represents his country both internationally and in the NHL. A double Canadian is a Canadian player who plays on a Canadian NHL team. A double American is an American player who plays on an American NHL team.
Jack Eichel is a double American. Matthew Tkachuk became one when he forced his way out from Calgary to Florida. Connor McDavid is a double Canadian, at least for now. Mitch Marner was, but not anymore. And Mario Lemieux, as great as he was, never earned the double distinction. So far, neither has Auston Matthews, Sidney Crosby or Cale Makar. But Quinn Hughes just did, a few days ago.
Cool. So who wins, a team of Double Canadians or Double Americans?
On Saturday night, after over eight years of waiting, it’s finally back: Canada vs the USA in a best-on-best men’s hockey tournament.
OK, maybe the 4 Nations Face-Off doesn’t have quite the same claim to “best-on-best” status as some of the tournaments that have come before, given that there are only four teams competing. But those four teams are bringing the very best players they have available, so yes, this is a best-on-best matchup. And it should be a good one.
Tomorrow marks the 20th time in men’s hockey history that Team Canada has faced Team USA in a true best-on-best, by which we mean the Canada Cup, the World Cup, and the Olympics in years where the NHL sent its players. Canada has dominated the head-to-head with a record of 14-4-1, but it’s been closer since the dawn of the World Cup and Olympic era, and this year the Americans may be slight favorites.
We’ll see how it turns out, and whether we have to settle for just this one game or also get a rematch in next week’s championship game. For now, let’s look back on those 19 previous matchups and rank them from worst to best.
Last week, we built a roster of 20 Canadian stars who never got to play for Team Canada in a best-on-best tournament. It ended up being a pretty solid group, one that included big names like Ron Francis, Bernie Parent and Cam Neely. It was so good, in fact, that at the end of the piece I included a one-sentence throwaway line where I wondered if they’d beat a roster of the worst players who did get to play for Team Canada.
I should have known what would come next. Sure enough, a lot of you wanted to see that roster too. OK, let’s do it.
The rules will be the same as last week. We need twelve forwards, six defensemen and two goalies who suited up for Team Canada at a best-on-best, which is to say the Olympics (in a year when NHL players went), World Cup, Canada Cup or Summit Series. The only exception is that this time we won’t count the mostly forgotten 1974 Summit Series, since that was WHA players and would make this too easy. Goalies have to have been on the roster (including backups or third strings), while skaters need to have actually seen the ice for at least one game. Simple enough.
One caveat: A lot of this is going to feel like we’re knocking these players, and I hope it doesn’t come across that way. A typical Team Canada will feature some of the very best players in the world, and being a “bad” player on a roster like that is still pretty impressive. The idea here isn’t to say that these guys weren’t great players in their own right, since almost all of them were. But the bar was set pretty high by last week’s snub team, so let’s see what we wind up with here.
Goaltenders
We’ve got a few solid options here, and we don’t even have to pick on Pete Peeters (who actually won a Vezina two years after his 1981 meltdown against the Soviets). I considered Jose Theodore, who didn’t have a long stay on top but was a few years removed from an MVP season when he was Canada’s third string at the 2004 World Cup, as well as Reggie Lemelin, who’d had back-to-back years as a Vezina finalist when he made the 1984 Canada Cup team.
Instead, I’m going to go with a couple of cap-era guys who personify solid starters without ever radiating too much star power. Give me Marty Turco, who was the third option for the 2006 Olympic team, leading to this classic “always lead with the local angle” headline from Sault Ste. Marie.
We’ll back him up with Mike Smith, who rolled out of the sack to earn a spot at the 2014 Olympics. Neither Smith or Turco actually got to play in the tournament, but that just means they’ll be well-rested when we turn to them.
They might need to be, because our blueline is going to be… interesting.
On this week's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show:
- Team Canada brings home the gold
- Where Marie-Philip Poulin ranks among hockey's all-time greatest clutch players
- Jack Eichel debuts in Vegas, but the Knights might be fading
- Patrice Bergeron returns, but could this be his final run in Boston?
- Are the Islanders the biggest disappointment of the season?
- Thoughts on whether you could have a .500 save percentage in an NHL game (you could not)
- This week in history, listener mail and more...
The Athletic Hockey Show runs most days of the week during the season, with Ian and I hosting every Thursday. There are two versions of each episode available:
- An ad-free version for subscribers that you can find here
- An ad-supported version you can get for free wherever you normally find your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify)
The Winter Olympics are here, but if you’re an NHL fan you may not have noticed. This was supposed to be the big showdown, a rare best-on-best international tournament that would determine the world’s top hockey nation. Instead, COVID delays gave Gary Bettman his opening to withdraw NHL players. What we’re left with is… well, some decent stories and some solid hockey, sure. But it’s certainly not a best-on-best on the men’s side, because the best aren’t there.
We might have to wait until 2026 for our next chance, or maybe we’ll get that World Cup in 2024. Either way, it will mean a long gap between opportunities for most of today’s stars. Connor McDavid, the best player in the world, has still never had a chance to represent his country in a true best-on-best – the NHL didn’t go to the Olympics in 2018 or 2022, and he was forced onto a hybrid Team North America in the 2016 World Cup. Now he’ll be closing in on 30 by the time he gets to put on a red maple leaf when the spotlight is brightest.
If it’s any consolation, McDavid isn’t alone. As it turns out, you can build a reasonably decent roster out of Canadian NHL stars who never got the chance to represent their country in a best-on-best tournament. So that’s what we’re going to do, with 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies worth of snubs and/or missed opportunities.
The ground rules here are that we’re looking for players who starred in the era of big best-on-best tournaments, which is to say nobody before the 1970s. “Best on best” means the Summit Series, the Canada Cup/World Cup, and the Olympics in the years that NHL players went, but not things like the World Championships or World Juniors, or the various all-star exhibitions that were played from time-to-time. And active players are allowed, but only if we’re pretty sure that they won’t be on a Canadian roster in the future, so no McDavid.
(Full discloser, I was originally going to include all of the major hockey counties in this roster, before realizing that pretty much all the selections would end up being from Canada. Apologies to my many American friends out there. If it’s any consolation, you’ve at least got that women’s hockey silver medal to look forward to.)
As always, we build a great adequate team from the net out…
Goaltenders
We’ll start off with what might be a controversial question: What do we do with goalies who were taken as back2ps or third strings but never saw the ice? On the one hand, they didn’t actually play in a best-on-best, which is what we said we were looking for. On the other, unlike skaters who never got into a game, the goalies would have at least pulled on the uniform, sat on the bench, and been (kind of) part of the game.
When in doubt, I usually lean towards the side that’s going to make things more difficult for me, so I’m going to say that goalies who suited up but didn’t play aren’t eligible here. That means no Eddie Belfour, (who was the third goalie at the 2002 Olympics), Marc-Andre Fleury (third string at the 2010 Olympics) or Ron Hextall (who was the backup at the 1987 Canada Cup but watched Grant Fuhr get all the action).
As it turns out, we can still get a Hall-of-Famer into the mix, although we have to go back a few decades to do it. Let’s start with Bernie Parent, who managed to win back-to-back Vezinas and even finish as Hart Trophy runner-up in the mid-70s, but was never invited to play for Team Canada. That includes the 1976 Canada Cup, where Gerry Cheevers, Glenn Resch, Rogatien Vachon and Dan Bouchard got the call. That sounds like a snub, but the reality is that Parent had a neck injury and was advised not to play. Bad luck for him, but good news for us, as he’ll be our starter.
I thought about trying to slip in
Billy Smith as the backup, since he was hurt before he could get into the 1981 Canada Cup tournament and was snubbed in 1984. But his injury came in warmup, which means he was actually in uniform, so it feels a little dicey. Instead, I’ll make Eric Duhatschek happy by going with Mike Vernon, who was good enough to win a pair of Stanley Cups but couldn’t find his way onto a Canada Cup team.
If we need a third-string option, we could look to guys like Chris Osgood, Kirk McLean, Braden Holtby and J.S. Giguere. But with Parent and Vernon, we should be pretty well set. Let’s see if we can build a decent blueline for them.
Defensemen
Hey, here’s a fun thing I learned while doing this exercise: Defense is by far the hardest position to fill.<2p>
Last Friday was the 10th anniversary of Sidney Crosby’s golden goal, the overtime winner against the United States that delivered Olympic gold in front of a delirious Vancouver crowd.
It was a remarkable goal that still holds up as a “where were you” moment to this day, and the anniversary spurred a rush of pride and patriotism among Canadian hockey fans. But it also prompted something else, something far more rare and wonderful: a good tweet.
Specifically, a tweet by user @thupka1982 asking a seemingly simple question: What’s the Mount Rushmore of Team Canada goals? In other words, which four stand above the others as the best and/or most memorable in Canadian international hockey history?
I’m going to take the liberty of expanding the question to not just goals, but moments. The beauty of the question is that the first three are obvious. Just about everyone would give you the same list: Crosby’s Golden Goal, Paul Henderson’s winner in 1972 and Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux teaming up to beat the Soviets in 1987. You can’t get hockey fans to agree on anything, but I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t have those three moments on their list.
But what’s No. 4? That’s where it gets interesting. Today, with permission from our pal @thupka1982, let’s break down some of the candidates.
Darryl Sittler’s fake shot
The game: The inaugural Canada Cup in 1976 was meant to expand on the success of the 1972 Summit Series, with the expectation that we’d get a rematch between Team Canada and the Soviets. Instead, Canada ended up facing an underdog Czechoslovakian team in the final.
The moment: Canada won the first game of the best-of-three in a 6-0 blowout. But they had a tougher time in Game 2, needing a late goal to send the game to overtime. That’s when this happened:
Why it’s in the running: It was the first great international moment to happen in sudden death, and it’s an absolute beauty of a goal. (Side note: Don Cherry has tried to claim the credit for the move, which may or may not factor into where you rank it.)
The case against: Not having it come against the Soviets hurts the case a bit, as does the fact that it wasn’t a must-win game for Canada.
Bottom line: It’s definitely in the conversation, although I’m not sure there’s room on our Mount Rushmore for two games from the 1970s.
John Slaney plays the hero on home ice
The game: Heading into the 1991 World Junior Championship, Canada was the defending champs. But they’d never won back-to-back tournaments and had never won the tournament on home ice. They had a chance to make history on both fronts when they faced the Soviets in their final game of the tournament, with the winner taking gold.
The moment: Late in a 2-2 tie, a draw in the Soviet zone ended up with the puck sliding back to Canadian defenseman John Slaney, who had time to step into the shot of his life.
Why it’s in the running: It’s not the greatest goal on the list, although it might challenge for the best celebration. But this moment, along with the crowd reaction and TSN’s coverage of it all, may have been the one that elevated the world juniors from a vaguely important tournament to a Canadian institution.
The case against: In terms of big names to score a crucial goal, Slaney doesn’t exactly rank up there with Crosby or Lemieux or Sittler. Then again, when it comes to the world juniors, that might be part of the appeal.
Bottom line: It’s probably hard to explain to younger fans, but this one really was a huge moment back in the day and set the stage for other great WJC moments to come. Like this one …
Jordan Eberle’s buzzer-beater
The game: Canada and Russia renewed international hockey’s greatest rivalry at the 2009 world juniors in Ottawa. Canada had won four straight golds, but the Russians held a one-goal lead late in the game.
The moment: With the goalie pulled and Canada pressing in the final minute of the third, Ryan Ellis made a play at the blue line to keep the puck in the Russian zone. After an extended scrum along the sideboards, the puck squirted free to Jordan Eberle in front of the net.
Why it’s in the running: There may not be a goal in Canadian hockey history that came out of nowhere quite like this one. One second, the puck was by the boards as the game ticked away; the very next, Eberle was somehow all alone in front of the Russian net. The whole thing played out almost too quickly for a fan’s brain to process in real time, which made it one of the great “Did I actually just see that?” moments ever.
The case against: Memory is a funny thing. You know Canada went on to win the game, but do you even remember who scored the winner in overtime? Nobody did because the game was decided in a shootout, which is kind of lame. Another piece you may not remember, with shades of the Miracle on Ice: This wasn’t the gold medal game. It was the semifinal.
Bottom line: The fact that a goal that didn’t end a game or a tournament is still remembered to this day just drives home how insane the moment was for those that watched it live.
We’ve spent the last week or so on this site having some fun with the World Cup. Or rather, with the lack of a World Cup, since the NHL in its infinite wisdom has apparently decided that hockey fans don’t want to see best-on-best tournaments anymore. We’re not so sure about that, so we’ve been coming up with our best guess at what the various rosters would look like if the World Cup were revived.
That’s always a fun exercise for any country. But it gets especially interesting for Team Canada because the country continues to produce more talent than anyone else. No matter who you pick for a roster, you’re going to end up leaving out a bunch of stars who’d be easy picks for pretty much any other team in the tournament. Sometimes, it feels like Canada could do pretty well with a second entry.
So let’s do that. We’ll scratch off all the names that wound up on Eric Duhatschek’s Team Canada entry, and see what we can do with the rest of the options. Call it the Canadian B-Team.
We’ve still got plenty of talent to choose from, and we should be able to put together a decent team. More than decent, actually. In fact, it’s tempting to wonder: With some savvy picks, can we build a roster that’s good enough to give the real Team Canada a run for its money?
No. No, we cannot. That team has Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. It has Mitch Marner on the fourth line. It has the reigning Norris winner on the third pairing. They’re good.
But can we build a Canadian B-team that could give some of the other countries in the tournament a run for their money? I think we can. Let’s find out.
Forwards
I admit that I was hoping Eric would get cocky (or maybe just have a senior moment) and leave McDavid off of his list. No such luck. In fact, Canada A snaps up the three leading Canadian-born scorers since the start of the 2017-18 season in McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and (believe it or not) Brad Marchand.
But somewhat surprisingly, the next three leading scorers are all available, so we’ll happily build our first line around Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux and Jonathan Huberdeau. That’s a solid start. Stamkos is a decorated veteran of international best-on-best, and we’ll make him team captain. Huberdeau is on his way to his second straight 90-point season and is still in his prime; he might be one of the most underrated offensive stars in the league right now. And Giroux is a talented scorer who gives us some versatility because he can play multiple positions. Plus picking him keeps my chimney dry.
We’ll build our second line around a pair of teammates from Dallas, as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn form two-thirds of a decent unit. Neither one is dominating this year, and Benn’s actually been pretty disappointing. But it speaks to the strength of Team Canada that he’s even here, since I can’t imagine too many other countries would be slotting a recent Art Ross winner onto the B-Team’s second line. We’ll make this an all-Central unit by adding Matt Duchene, who suited up for Canada at both the 2016 World Cup and 2014 Olympics.
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey ended last night. You'll never guess who won.
Wait, of course you will. It was the same team that always wins, at least for the last decade or so.
Last night, Canada used a late third-period comeback to beat Team Europe 2-1, finishing off a two-game sweep of the final. That left Canada with a perfect 6-0-0 record for the tournament, and going back to the playoff round of the 2010 Olympics, Canada has now won each of the last three best-on-best tournaments, not to mention 16 straight games.
And so we appear to have an international dynasty on our hands. And while that's great news if you're a proud Canadian, it's not exactly a good thing for hockey fans in general. The sport has a long history of international tournaments providing some of its most memorable moments, from Paul Henderson to Dominik Hasek to Mario Lemieux to Tommy Salo. But those tournaments only matter if there's some suspense involved. Right now, Canada is the best and everyone knows it. If one team is completely unbeatable, then why should anyone bother to care about the next best-on-best event? Maybe it would be better for fans to just skip the international events and only worry about the games where we don't already know the ending.
This is a problem. And it's lead to some handwringing over whether Canada is just too good for these tournaments to be worth watching anymore. So today, let's try to push back on the idea of Team Canada as an unstoppable juggernaut. Hard as it may be to find today, there are small signs of optimism for everyone else. Here are eight reasons why the rest of the world should hold out some hope of beating Team Canada someday soon.
Reason No. 1: Team Europe almost beat them
Let's start with the most recent sign of optimism: Team Europe actually hung in there. For 55 minutes last night, they looked like they were even going to get a win.
That was a surprise. On paper, Team Europe wasn't even one of the tournament's stronger teams. A collection of players from the hockey world's less competitive nations, Team Europe wasn't expected to make the playoff round. But it did, upsetting Team USA along the way, and then it surprised Sweden in overtime. That set up a matchup that most of us assumed would be a Canadian cake walk.
But it wasn't. Team Europe played Canada tough in Tuesday's opener before dropping a 3-1 decision, and it was even better last night. And to be clear, this wasn't a case of a team getting badly outplayed but managing to keep the score close. Team Europe held the edge for long stretches, outshooting Canada and giving itself a real chance to win.
How did Team Europe do it? Mainly by being a well-coached team playing a disciplined and getting strong games from just about all of its key contributors. And sure, in the end, it still wasn't enough. But for a more talented roster, it might have been.
So it can be done. Now we just need to find someone who can do it.
Reason No. 2: Help is on the way
Your mileage may vary depending on which country you root for, but there's plenty of young talent that should be making waves in the NHL by 2020, and much of it isn't Canadian. Names like Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jack Eichel and Leon Draisaitl are all set to break through. Johnny Gaudreau and Evgeny Kuznetsov already have, and they'll be even better next time around.
Two years is too small a sample to draw any big conclusions from, but it's worth remembering that the last few drafts have been top heavy with non-Canadians. The rest of the world has accounted for 15 of the 20 top ten picks from the last two drafts, with Canada having just five. The next wave of talent to hit the league may not be as Canadian as we're used to seeing.
(Of course, for this point to work, you have to ignore that one of those Canadian players is Connor McDavid, whose work on Team North America at the World Cup was so impressive that plenty of hockey people were openly wondering if he's already the best player in the league. He's going to be ridiculously good. Sorry, rest of the world. Barring an alien abduction, McDavid is going to ruin you for the next two decades.)
Last week, to great fanfare, preliminary rosters for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey were unveiled. And as usual, Team Canada stood out as being ridiculously stacked, boasting so much talent that the biggest story were the perennial All-Stars who wouldn’t make the cut.
It was a nice moment for Canadian fans, one where they could feel good about the nation’s hockey prowess. Then the NHL regular season resumed, and those feelings immediately vanished. Because as a glance at this year’s standings will confirm, Canada’s NHL teams are terrible.
Canada has seven of the NHL’s 30 teams, and barring a miracle, all seven will miss the playoffs this year – according to Sports Club Stats, the country’s best hope for a postseason appearance rests with the Ottawa Senators, who have just a 1.7% chance of making it. It would be the first time that no Canadian team has made the playoffs since 1970, and back then there were only three.
So what’s going on? How can all seven teams from a hockey mad nation be so bad at the same time? There are a handful of theories, some better than others.
The big news in the hockey world this week was Team Canada's official orientation camp, which is being held in Calgary. The event marked the first opportunity for the country's Olympic hopefuls to gather, and gave coach Mike Babcock and GM Steve Yzerman their first chance to begin the evaluation process.
But there was a snag – due to insurance issues, the players couldn't actually suit up and take to the ice. Which led many fans to wonder: What exactly are they doing out there?
Luckily, my spies were there, and they were able to snag a copy of one day's official agenda.
Twenty years from now, you'll probably still remember. I was watching the game with three-year old Little Goes Brown (nicely recovered from the day's earlier unpleasantness). When Crosby scored, my natural instinct was to grab her and hold her over my head like the Stanley Cup. She thought that was hilarious, and told me she wanted to walk on the ceiling.
So that's what we did. While Team Canada piled onto the ice and the crowd went crazy, I helped my daughter do a victory lap around the basement ceiling. At that moment, I felt like I wanted to do one too.
It was a good day at DGB headquarters. It started with a voicemail from Wendel Clark ("I hear you have some sort of blog. Good luck with that"). And it ended with the most ridiculously cliched hockey game you could imagine. Really, hockey gods? Sidney Crosby? In overtime? You really think anyone's going to believe that?
Two weeks ago, nobody thought it would end this way. After all, if you were going to scrap these two teams and form a Team North America, which US players would make the squad? Parise and Miller for sure. Kane, probably. Maybe you could make a case for a few more to round out the checking line.
But the team would be dominated by Canadians, because we have the best players in the world, at every position, for any particular skill, for every situation. And yet the US gave us all we could handle.
Not many of us gave them a chance. I know I didn't. But down two goals, in front of a hostile crowd, outmatched by a mile on paper, they almost pulled off a miracle. Any American hockey fan should be proud of these guys.
And now it's back to the NHL grind. The trade deadline countdown starts now. Then the stretch drive. Then the playoffs, which I'm told is some sort of tournament thing. And of course, we'll get to hear all about how the NHL isn't sure about continuing to play in the Olympics, because if there's on thing this league is good at it's identifying something its fans love and screwing it up.
But that all starts tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to do one more quick lap around the ceiling.
Update: I'll be on Rink Side Radio tonight at 9:00 EST to talk more about the gold medal game.
It's been a little slow around here lately. I'm sorry about that. The NHL has been on break, of course. But more importantly, it turns out my recent "two whole posts a week" pace was unsustainable, and I think I'm a little burned out.
But the vacation is over, because it's going to be a busy week in the hockey world.
First up, of course, is tomorrow's Gold Medal game. At the risk of modestly overselling it, this game is the most important thing that has ever happened in the history of the world. The game is expected to draw a Canadian televisions rating of over 50 million, since most of us will be watching on multiple TVs just in case one of them turns out to be bad luck. I'm picking Canada to win, especially since I'll be sneaking into the athlete's village tonight, kidnapping Ryan Miller, and replacing him with Cheryl Bernard.
On Monday, we'll move right into trade deadline mode. Side note: If any GM out there pulls off a Sunday midnight trade and ruins the post I've been working on for Monday, I will hunt you down. Fair warning.
The actual deadline will fall on Wednesday, March 3, and I'll be liveblogging all day. Join me, as we ponder questions such as:
Where will Alexei Ponikarovsky wind up?
Um, are there any other players on the trade market?
Hey, any update on where Alexei Ponikarovsky will wind up?
Wasn't being an NHL fan way more fun back before the CBA screwed up trading?
Once the deadline has passed, it's on the playoff push. Or, as Leaf fans typically call it, "Four months to think about who we'll be taking with our first round pick". Or, as Leaf fans will call it this year, "Two years and four months to think about who we'll be taking with our first round pick".
There may also be a few surprises between now and the end of the year. It should be a fun time. I hope you'll drop by for some of it.
People seemed to enjoy yesterday's Team Canada rap, in which the players from the men's hockey team wished a friendly welcome to competitors from other nations. We've even had a positive response from international readers (with the exception of fans in Finland who still want my head on a pike for being mean to Vesa Toskala).
A few of you had requests: for a downloadable file, and for the full lyrics.
First up, the mp3 is now available from Bloge Salming. You know this already if you visit his site frequently. If you don't, you're missing out. Go there now.
Next up, the lyrics: Below is a quasi-official version. MC Bloge may have freestyled a little here and there depending on whether the muse moved him at a particular moment, but they should be pretty close.
Team Canada's Olympic Welcome
Sidney Crosby vs. Russia First off, [bleep] Ovechkin and his video game Losing big to the Kid is your claim to fame. You claim to be a player but I've got your Cup Had a 2-0 series lead and then we [bleep]ed you up They say Russia looks scary, we shouldn't blow you off But It's hard to take you serious with that Morozov Nabokov as your goalie what a [bleep]ing facade You had to battle Toskala for your starting job And I hope that your goalies lower lumbar's tough Sore back when Markov throws them under the bus And hey Ilya... Duncan Keith is going to fill ya Keep your head up Malkin or else Pronger's going to kill ya
Expect diving calls when you see the Kid. Protect your balls when you see the Kid. You tried to kill me and I tried to choke ya now you're about to feel the wrath of Nova Scotia You're gonna get lit up
Jarome Iginla vs. USA Get out the way, yo, get out the way, yo Iggy just hit the ice Americans love to talk and now it's pissing me off. So son you better run before the visor comes off. Can't wait for the day that we play the States Games end more lopsided than Ryan Miller's face Your defence is going to stop me? Your higher than Kordic If you reckon for a second that I'm scared of Brooks Orpik. Can't believe you think you've got a chance against the best When your roster looks weaker than Patrick Kane's chest. You're thinking of a medal but it's just a dream Brian Burke + Ron Wilson = last place team
Rick Nash vs. Finland Finnish All Stars I hope you hear all the pundits Mikko Koivu [entire line bleeped out for reason Bloge and I will explain some day] We've got Jarome Iginla and he tips us off On all the ways he scores in practice on Kiprusoff We're going to beat you down and I don't mean maybe Cause your first line center looks like an ugly baby I'll be as strong as Popeye when he's eating his spinach When the medal round starts you'll all be finished.
Did you get it guys? Finished? Babcock: Yeah, we got it Rick. It's like a pun! Babcock: Great work Rick.
Martin Brodeur vs. Czech Republic I'm from N-E-W Jerz where lots of trapping occurs Going to put the Czechs in a world of hurt Elias might be my teammate when the season's on But in Vancouver when we play you [bleep] it's [bleep]ing on. Kaberle will get sunk. We'll take out Jagr the punk And then we'll give Marty Havlat a big kick in the junk If you left the country you'd be far better off We'll be bouncing Czechs worse than Sergei Federov Win with the trap and the offensive zone cycle Bad sign when your taxi squad has Robert Reichel Need a team effort for a legitimate chance to win It helps that they found Kuba under Spacek's chins
Scott Niedermayer vs. Sweden People want to talk about the two Sedins Little jokers, go play poker with Mats Sundin Daniel Alfredsson is known for his leadership and class But shoot a puck at me again and I'mma bust your ass So you won Gold in '06, duly noted again Gustavsson's heart just exploded again Vancouver hates Ohlund, the boos they're given him Modin is [bleep], even the Leafs got rid of him You might have a shot if you can just stay loose But better pray that you don't play against Belarus. Is Murray even Swedish? How bout Johnny Oduya? So many holes in Lundqvist with all the pucks we get through you.
Mike Green vs. Slovakia Crosby: Aw, yeah, and don't think we forgot about you Slovakia. Tell 'em what we got in store for them, Mike Green! Mike? Mike? Green: Um... yeah, I didn't make the team. Crosby: Wait, seriously? Green: Yeah. Crosby: You're like first overall in scoring. Green: I am aware of that. Yzerman: Awkward! Crosby: Holy [bleep], we are stacked!
Nash: "Finished" also means done! Babcock: That's great Rick...
(Side note: If you liked this or any other video, don't forget to rate it and/or favorite it on youtube. Let's help Bloge Salming own the podium.)
This is a bit of a strange one. Mike Babcock and Steve Yzerman decided that as host nation, it would be fun to have the team record a friendly welcome message to the other teams. They googled "hockey videos" and ended up flying my pal Bloge Salming and I into Vancouver to spend some time with Team Canada during their first practice this morning.
I thought the whole "welcome video" concept was a great idea and after a bit of a slow start, the players really got into it. But once we were done, the coaching staff changed their mind and didn't want to use it anymore.
I have no idea why. I thought it was a great example of Canada's polite and welcoming nature.
Puck Soup is a podcast featuring me and Ryan Lambert. We release one free episode each week during the season, plus mailbags and other bonus episodes for Patreon subscribers.
"Biscuits" was the Vice Sports hockey podcast, hosted by DGB and Dave Lozo. It ran for two seasons; the final episode was in July, 2018. You can find the archives below:
So where were you for The Goal?
