10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – BECAUSE IT’S THE CUP: These Stanley Cup Playoffs have been a thrill-a-minute and they’re not even a week old. However it’s nothing less than a crying shame that the focus has almost entirely been about officiating, rather than the stars on the ice. I’ll take the unpopular stance and say NHL Officiating has largely gotten it all correct: The Michael Bunting 3-game suspension, no additional discipline for the Matt Dumba hit, and *inconclusive* evidence of a high stick in overtime of Game 3 between Edmonton & LA. There’s been an uproar in all markets affected by these calls, but those people are biased. Especially Edmonton. Frankly I’m just like the referees; I’m not rooting for anyone in the Kings/Oilers series and therefore I can see it clearly. No high stick.

2 – CONSPIRACY: Furthermore, I’d be more than happy to debate this with any of you but I firmly, FIRMLY believe that there’s no fix when it comes to officiating and controversial calls. (In the NHL anyway). It’s one thing for fans, media and teams to complain about it and claim “The NHL wants _____ to win” but I’ve heard multiple times that the NHL will “rig” this Draft Lottery this spring in order to dictate where Connor Bedard goes #1. “They don’t want Bedard in a Canadian market,” they say. Then how do you explain Connor McDavid to Edmonton and Auston Matthews to Toronto?

Next.

3 – NHL NOTES: There’s just as much drama off the ice, as on. For instance, from what I’m told by those in-the-know, if it’s true General Manager Brad Treliving left Calgary because he couldn’t get along with Head Coach Darryl Sutter, that’s news to Darryl. … Tempest In A Teapot: Dallas TV station WFAA and the website The Athletic tried to stir it up with headlines this week that Stars icon Mike Modano is cheering for Minnesota in the Wild/Stars first round series. Uhhhh, he’s been working for the Wild since 2019. … If you want to shake your head that Modano’s not employed/recognized by the Dallas Stars after all he did for them, I’ve got time for that. He’s my favourite all-time NHL player. But whom do you think he’d be cheering for? … SMH. … Discussing this with a veteran scout this weekend, he said it’s a “bloody crime” that Mo isn’t with the Stars after being the reason “hockey blossomed in Texas.” … For the history buffs: two defencemen scored OT winners on the same day Saturday (Leafs Morgan Rielly & Devils Dougie Hamilton) for just the second time in NHL history. When was the first? 1985 when Lee Fogolin did it for the Oilers and Mark Howe for the Flyers.

4 – TV: Just a clarification on my commentary earlier this week about not watching the NHL TV intermission panels. It’s not because the analysts aren’t talented; they are and that’s why they’re there. However obviously I was raised on Coach’s Corner and the Satellite Hot Stove including Al Strachan, John Davidson and Eric Duhatschek. They broke stories and talked about the controversial issues. The panelists now aren’t allowed to discuss these things, clearly. So the entertainment factor is gone, and I search for something else in between periods. Nothing more, nothing less.

I also wonder how the insiders decide what gets reported, and what doesn’t. For instance I’ve got it on great authority that the Trade Deadline deal between LA-Columbus-Las Vegas came about because Jonathan Quick refused to report to the Blue Jackets. What a story that is, if true?! But I didn’t see it reported anywhere and you can’t tell me the media didn’t know about it.

5 – MORE TV: Currently loving the new 30-minute Sportsnet Connected hosted by Sportsnet veteran Tim Micallef. It’s a neat & tidy summary of each night’s highlights without unnecessary filler. You wanna know why Sportscenter initially went from 30 to 60 minutes on the mothership, ESPN? Because network President George Bodenheimer spent 60 minutes on the treadmill each morning and the highlight show on his network was only 30 minutes. So he extended it. (Bodenheimer tells the story in his book Every Town’s A Sports Town). That was 20 or so years ago, and this is now. Times have changed. Bravo to Sportsnet for trimming the show back to 30 minutes, and Timmy is the perfect guy to bring it all together.

6 – SEVENTH HEAVEN: I cannot express enough how much fun we’re having at Ace Casino Airport Calgary this spring discussing the Stanley Cup Playoffs with NHL veterans & icons on The RP Show on Game+ TV, WQEE & Streaming. On Monday we’ll be joined by Oilers Stanley Cup champ Pat Conacher and Hall of Fame Flames Voice Peter Maher. (10 am-Noon MT daily). Over the next few weeks our guest list includes Sportsnet Flames host Ryan Leslie, Nevada Wolfpack & Calgary Stampeders alum John Bender, Rider great Jeff Fairholm, Theoren Fleury, Tim Hunter and … fingers crossed … Mike Vernon!! #30 has become my White Whale and I may faint if, and when, he walks into Ace Casino.

I was in the Agridome in 1983 when, in a bench-clearing brawl, Vernon blockered Pats star Gary Leeman in the face. I was 10 at the time, and have been waiting patiently for 40 years to ask Mike about it.

7 – SOUTHEY: A massive thank you to FMC Ag Canada for sponsoring my presentation to the players and families at the Southey Minor Hockey Association season wind-up on Saturday night! After a fantastic beef supper and year-end award ceremony, I spoke to the town 30 miles north of Regina about Inspiration, Motivation & Goal-Setting. We took questions, mixed in some hockey and football stories and underscored the importance of never giving up. I left that arena walking on air. THANK YOU!

The parents asked me about spending my time in Calgary and South Florida and why. I reasoned that I’ve always wanted to live in an NHL market and it’s been better than I imagined. For now, I see no reason to change, especially when I can come back to Sask for awesome special events! But I grew up exactly like those kids are, and it was the best life ever. What a wild ride since!

8 – STARS SHINING: Hip hip hooray to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars for punching their ticket to the Centennial Cup in Portage, MB next month! Brayden Klimosko’s Stars won the Canterra Seeds SJHL Championship with a sweep of Flin Flon, winning 7-4 Saturday night at Whitney Forum. I’ve got a personal connection to the Stars and feel so happy and proud for them! Now off to finish the job and Brayden’s got a big challenge keeping his players focused till the tournament stars in a few weeks.

9 – NFL: You’ve gotta give people what they want and we’ve had plenty of requests – from Canadian viewers & listeners – for increased NFL coverage on The RP Show, particularly leading up to this week’s Draft. That’s why we have Wolfpack alum John Bender appearing on Thursday, the day of Round 1. (Bender was college teammates with Colin Kaepernick and Cody Fajardo). … NFL Canada is running a Draft Challenge where if you correctly predict the top 15 picks, you’ll win a gift card. That’s tough! … We were meeting with a Las Vegas hotel recently about bringing The RP Show to Super Bowl LVIII and they asked why wanted to partner with the NFL.

I asked, “Is that a trick question?”

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Humpty’s has done away with the Mexican pan scrambler? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! … Some words from Chris Jones a few years ago keep echoing in my brain: “The days of people staying in one place for years are over.” … Kudos to Taylor Shire for being named the Leader Post sports beat writer covering the Pats and Roughriders! He’s a fantastic guy and reporter, and is the pride of Rocanville, SK. … The world is exactly how you view it. If you think it’s a toilet, then it is. If you think it’s a wonderful place, then it’s that too. … In a gas station in Swift Current, I picked up a roast beef sandwich. It smelled and tasted like paint. I finished it, and lived to tell about it.. … There were big headlines recently that brand new vehicles are coming off the assembly line without AM radios and that caused mild panic in the industry, and with listeners. Pshaw. Radio companies will simply move their AM programming over to the FM dial like CHQR 770 Calgary has already done, creating QR Calgary. As some of the announcers have already told me, “We sound great!’ after spending their entire careers on AM. … The best radio station I’ve discovered recently: CJWE 88.1, owned by the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society in Alberta. Those cats know country music and their playlist regularly includes Desert Rose Band, T.G. Shepherd, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and the like. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen