10 Canada Day Things

Truth & Rumours

1 – OH CANADA: Waking up to an exactly perfect day in these parts of the Great *Green* North! Sunny, 24 degrees Celsius/75 degrees Fahrenheit, and next-to-no wind are in the forecast for this area and it’s the type of day that makes Canadian summers great! In fact spending time at the lake on Canada Day Weekend is about as Canadian as it gets. But don’t forget we’re home with the Moose Jaw Miller Express in the WCBL as we host the Edmonton Prospects Monday at 6:05 pm at historic Ross Wells Park. The early start time is to accommodate the fireworks lovers!

2 – #TIMETOPARTY: Back home, hopefully the Florida Panthers will finally get a chance to enjoy some rest after a week-long party. It was eight days ago that they dispatched the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and they’ve been boozin’ & cruisin’ ever since. Torrential rain threatened to spoil the Cats’ championship parade on Sunday, but it didn’t, and not a soul left the parade route along Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. As many fans stated, they waited 30 years for this. Many of the staff and broadcasters waited just as long! I waited nine seasons to win a championship while with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and that felt like an ETERNITY! That’s why they let it all out this past week.

3 – LOOKING AHEAD: Paul Maurice has achieved immortality in South Florida with this title. They’re already comparing him to famed Dolphins coach Don Shula and if Maurice should capture a couple more titles, he’ll be in the conversation with the Heat’s Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. But even PoMo will remind you: he took over a team which had just won the President’s Trophy. They had the talent and the culture already; all they were missing was the maturity and a guide. Paul provided that and will likely never leave South Florida like many former coaches and GMs in the area like Doug MacLean, Dale Tallon, Jacques Martin, et al. As far as the players go, they’re going to keep as many as they can and no one seems to want to leave. What a culture!

Panthers fans, however, need to get the chip off their shoulder. As long as I’ve been there all I’ve heard is huffing and griping about their “six fans” and not being taken seriously as a hockey market. I was hoping the Stanley Cup win, and year-long sellouts, would change that but now many were upset Friday night when hardly any NHL teams congratulated Florida when making their Round 1 Draft selections. Who cares!

4 – STAMMER: Cross-state, the Lightning are seemingly heading the other way. Longtime captain Steven Stamkos was understandably insulted by being offered a contract worth $3-million per season over the weekend, coming off a deal which paid him $8.5M per year. To me it’s simple – GM Brian Lawton drafted Stamkos in 2008 and he later became GM Steve Yzerman’s guy. Now, he’s clearly not GM Julien Brisebois’ guy, and “JBB” has been putting his own stamp on the Bolts. Panthers fans would like to see Stammer sign in Sunrise but I couldn’t see the Panthers offering the longtime rival anymore than $3M per season. But he’ll go somewhere … just not Tampa Bay it appears.

5 – WHAT OFF-SEASON?: Even in Canada, among the hockey-mad citizens, you hear the howls that hockey should take a break. They went straight from the Stanley Cup Final to the Hall of Fame announcement, to the Draft, and now to Free Agency which begins today. Here’s a tip: if you don’t care for it, turn off your TV & phone and go for a walk or a drive. The NHL is coming off a $6.2-billion revenue season and Commissioner Gary Bettman can point to that as proof that he knows better than anyone else. Frankly, he’s following the NFL model in a lot of ways and it’s worked.

6 – OILERS: Edmonton getting a win away from winning the Stanley Cup is proof that Canadian teams CAN win it all, and that the Gary Bettman Curse is bunk. (I wonder what Canuck hockey fans would’ve said about Bettman had the Oil won last Monday). It’s just more difficult for Canadian teams, and it took a veteran hockey man like Ken Holland to get the Oilers that far. However now he’s walking away from the organization after being squeezed out of decision-making by the other “higher-ups”. Unreal! I’m told Ken has two opportunities on the table, or may just retire to Vernon, BC.

7 – FINAL NOTES: It makes too much sense that beginning next year, the NHL will be going to an NFL-style Draft where the team personnel will remain in war rooms in their own cities while the prospects and fans will congregate at the actual Draft. The current format – with the teams set up at tables on the arena floor – has been in place since 1963 but the cost has become too prohibitive. I’ve been fortunate to witness the Draft in Edmonton, Toronto, Boston, St. Louis, Sunrise, Buffalo and Montreal and, like you, will still have the opportunity to go. The teams just won’t be there, which is fine.

Meanwhile the Canadiens utilizing Celine Dion and the Flyers utilizing Michael Buffer to make their Draft picks in Las Vegas Friday night was genius! It got me thinking about some other Vegas acts who could’ve repped their hometown teams on the podium: Dallas Stars – Terry Fator, Washington Capitals – Wayne Newton, New Jersey Devils – David Copperfield, New York Islanders – Jon Taffer, New York Rangers – Jerry Seinfeld, Florida Panthers – Carrottop, Vegas Golden Knights – Jenna Jameson, Toronto Maple Leafs – Shania Twain.

8 – DOWN WEEK?: While we were frolicking at the beach, the Roughriders opened their practice week sans Trevor Harris in Regina. The veteran Saskatchewan QB was seen on the sidelines with a knee brace and it was learned he’s been placed on the 6-game Injured List with a knee injury. Sadly it was predictable, but it’s also not insurmountable. Many in the Rider Nation are writing the season off already and you can’t blame them; that’s what happened last season. However with a new coaching staff and a new back-up in Shea Patterson, there’s at least some hope this season can be salvaged. This Thursday’s home game versus Toronto will tell the tale.

9 – AROUND THE CFL: It’s likely not wise to make any declarations until after the sixth game of the CFL season. (i.e. the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are not DONE, nor are the winless Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Montreal isn’t marching all the way to a Grey Cup title. Yet). However there are plenty of talking points coming out of the first four weeks. … CFL types who’ve actually been around longer than me feel the Edmonton Elks franchise is not in worse shape than any other in CFL history. They point to the 1980s Montreal Concordes, the 1990s Ottawa Rough Riders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers & Saskatchewan Roughriders and 2000s Calgary Stampeders all as franchises who were in far worse shape. … I dunno. At 0-4 and looking at that empty stadium, I have a tough time believing any team or fanbase has ever been worse off than this. The new owner is taking over the Elkimos at rock bottom, which is actually a good thing. … Somebody sent me the podcast clip of John Shannon, Steve Simmons and Bob McGowan discussing the current plight of the CFL and Simmons quipped that it’s the same as it always is. “Not growing, but not shrinking,” the Toronto Sun columnist offered. I concur. The CFL’s never gonna die but clearly it’s not going to flourish either. I just enjoy it for what it is, and have retired picking on what it’s not. It’s been great to me for a long time, provided many memories and friendships, and two beautiful championship rings. Go CFL!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: You forgot to remind me about the TICKS! Omg I was covered with them after a jog in Wakamow Valley. GROSS! … Is the Bypass actually faster? … Never trust a skinny cook. … Old people “get” it. … The social media account @JustBins makes me sad. … How well do you need to know someone before you inform them they have a “bat in the cave”? … Two thumbs up from the Monday Morning Goalie for the movie Bad Boys: Ride Or Die starring, of course, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence and now playing at your local Landmark Cinemas. It’s so good that I plan to go again! That’s my kind of movie. … If you’re not buying your Nibs for $1.75 at the Dollar Store, what ARE you doing? … Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases (farts) emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming. Don’t tell Trudeau! .. AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

RP
@rodpedersen