In the Friday Grab Bag:
- We are all Duane, the disgusted Sabres fan. Or at least we have been.
- A debate about that trade your team might make.
- An obscure all-star with a rocking headband.
- The week's three comedy stars
- And a YouTube look back at an awkward Gary Bettman interview that will make you angry
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In this week's episode of the Puck Soup podcast:
- We react to the latest chapter in the Battle of Alberta
- Zack Kassian gets a long-term deal
- Can the all-star game be saved?
- One of us really doesn't like the rumored name of Seattle's new team
- Trade deadline thoughts
- An interview with WWE superstar (and hockey fan) Xavier Woods
- Kobe Bryant, the Super Bowl, and lots more...
>> Stream it now:
>> Or, listen on The Athletic or subscribe on iTunes.
>> Get weekly mailbags and special bonus episodes by supporting Puck Soup on Patreon for $5.
Tonight’s NHL schedule features one of the most anticipated matchups of the season so far, as the Oilers host the Flames. It’s an important game, one that could help decide an incredibly close Pacific Division race. But of course, that’s not why everyone is focused on it.
No, for that we can thank Matthew Tkachuk and Zack Kassian. This will be their first meeting since the Jan. 11 game in Calgary that featured several controversial hits, a one-sided fight, and more than a few postgame soundbites. It also earned Kassian a suspension, and led the hockey world to wonder: What comes next?
We didn’t have to wait long to find out, because the Oilers and Flames play twice this week, with tonight’s game followed by a rematch in Calgary on Saturday. Kassian hasn’t exactly been shy about suggesting that he’ll be looking for further payback. Tkachuk’s options are a little more complicated, but it’s fair to say that all eyes will be on both players as we wait to see what – if anything – happens when they cross paths.
So that will be the next chapter in the story. But at the risk of skipping ahead, how will it end? This is hardly the first time that two players have developed some bad blood, so we have plenty of examples of how this might go. So today, let’s dig back into the archives and try to figure out what the end game might look like here.
What happens: After months or even years of a back-and-forth, give-and-take sort of rivalry, something finally happens that tilts the scale. Maybe it’s a crushing hit or some sort of altercation, or maybe one guy just goes out there and wins the big game for his team by actually playing hockey. But either way, everyone remembers the moment, and everyone remembers who won.
Why it’s good: This is the exclamation point on the story, and while it may not end the rivalry completely, it’s pretty definitive. It happens, we all see it, and then everyone moves on.
Why it’s not: Often, “decisive” can mean that somebody gets hurt.
Historical example: Scott Stevens vs. Eric Lindros. They were natural rivals from the moment Lindros arrived in the league, two big physical alpha dogs staking out their territory as franchise players and captains of teams in the same division. They fought in Lindros’ rookie year, traded big hits, always seemed to be in each other’s faces, and competed for the title of the league’s most-feared physical presence.
We all know how it ended.
That was pretty much it for the rivalry. And in some sense, that was also it for Lindros as an elite NHL star. The devastating hit looks very different through today’s eyes than it did at the time. But whether you see it as a clean hit or a predatory headshot – or maybe, based on the rules of the day, both at the same time – it became the rivalry’s definitive moment. And its last.
What happens: Enough is enough. Two guys who hate each other and who’ve spent a chunk of their careers exchanging shots on and off the ice decide to settle things the old-fashioned way. They drop the gloves, everyone else clears out, and may the best man win.
Why it’s good: Even if you hate fighting, there’s a certain old-school appeal to seeing two rivals go this route. It’s almost honorable.
Why it’s not: Depending on how you view fighting, two professional athletes settling a score with bare-knuckles fisticuffs can seem silly, if not barbaric. There’s the risk of injury. And half the time, the guy who loses will insist on a rematch, so nothing really gets settled at all.
Historical example: Scott Stevens vs. Dave Manson. Before he was battling Lindros in the Patrick Division, Stevens had an epic rivalry with Blackhawks blueliner Manson. They tangled when Stevens was in Washington, in a controversial fight that resulted in multiple suspensions for biting and eye-gouging. A year later, Stevens wound up playing for the Hawks’ top rival. It wasn’t hard to see where this was headed, and during a brawl that would be remembered as The St. Patrick’s Day Massacre, it got there.
One of the most memorable fights of the ’90s didn’t exactly smooth over the bad blood, but it served as a climax to the rivalry. And at least nobody got bitten or gouged.
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I’ll get the spoiler out of the way early: the rankings aren’t changing this week. It wouldn’t make sense since over half of the league’s teams didn’t play at all last week and most of the ones that did only had one game. There just wasn’t much meaningful NHL action to pay attention to.
Instead, all eyes were on All-Star weekend. With that in mind, let’s offer up a special All-Star themed top and bottom five from St. Louis before we get to the week’s regular rankings.
5. The “Shooting Stars” contest, in theory: I’m constantly criticizing the NHL for being too conservative and afraid to try new things, so I have to give them credit for at least giving this a shot. These types of Dude Perfect-style trick shots are huge with young fans, and there was the potential for some fun viral moments. No risk, no reward, so here’s to the league for giving it a try.
4. All those Blues cameos: It was cool to see Wayne Gretzky and Bernie Federko, the Brett Hull appearance was well done, and I was even on board with the Al MacInnis thing. Does anyone believe that a 50-something retiree taking half a windup with a wooden stick could hit 101.4 on a radar gun that wasn’t even turned on? Of course not. (And how funny was it when they forgot to turn them back on for Seth Jones?) But we can embrace a little kayfabe on that one, and it was fun to see all these old faces. The only piece missing was Mike Keenan showing up and trading everyone.
3. Matthew Tkachuk: He was a local story, he kind of backchecked once or twice, he tried some crazy moves and just seemed to be enjoying himself. And the running subplot with him and Leon Draisaitl was fun too.
I gotta say, it is extremely satisfying that they’re not chumming it up. https://t.co/yDAYR6wGe9
— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) January 26, 2020
2. The women’s 3-on-3: It was an important moment, giving fans (especially young girls) a chance to see some of the best women on the planet in a showcase game. But even beyond that, it was just good hockey, with the players going hard and generating plenty of chances while the goalies kept the score from getting silly. And more importantly, they reminded us that it is possible to take the ice on All-Star weekend and try.
1. Laila: You rock, kid. And you’re a better announcer than half the full-time guys.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR LAILA ANDERSON. 👏👏👏
Awesome, awesome, AWESOME job! 💙 #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/7atGtvnVVe
— NHL (@NHL) January 26, 2020
Honorable mentions: Blues fans trying to figure out what to do with Patrick Kane, Dom going 9-0, Alex Letang, Quinn Hughes, the Tomas Hertl/Justin Bieber thing that at least tried to be funny, all the mascot stuff except for this, a final that was close down to the end and even looked vaguely competitive for a shift or two.
5. The “Shooting Stars” contest, in execution: Way too complicated, way too many targets and too many cases of players seeming to hit the 10-pointer only to find out that it didn’t count for reasons that were never explained. The fact that players got together and decided not to bother trying for the best scores didn’t help. There’s something here worth keeping, so here’s hoping the league finds a way to make this work better and tries again next year.
4. Mic’d up goalies: We try this every year, and it never, ever works. This time around, we had Jacob Markstrom ignoring (or not hearing) the questions, then dropping an f-bomb on live TV. The player interviews between events are always awkward enough, let’s not push our luck with the goalies.
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In this week's episode of the Puck Soup podcast:
- Gritty gets arrested
- We reveal our ballots for the PHWA's midseason awards
- Alexander Ovechkin chases 700
- We open up the mailbag for a round of Ask Us Anything
- A weird segue into the sitcom world of Perfect Stangers
- And more...
>> Stream it now:
>> Or, listen on The Athletic or subscribe on iTunes.
>> Get weekly mailbags and special bonus episodes by supporting Puck Soup on Patreon for $5.
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The Athletic Hockey Show runs four days a week during the season, and will feature me with Other Sean Gentille on Wednesdays.
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:
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