10 WEEKEND THINGS

Completely random thoughts …

#1 – THE GREAT 8: Alex Ovechkin’s 1,400th NHL game was not a memorable one. Saturday night in Sunrise, FL, Ovechkin was minus-1 and pointless in Washington’s 3-2 OT loss to the hometown Panthers. Fans of both the Caps and Cats were scrambling to get videos and photos of the 38-year old in warmup, fearing that this could be his last trip to South Florida. Ovechkin’s always been an enigmatic player to me – seemingly giving a halfhearted effort whenever I’ve seen him play live – however the Capitals people adore him. And there’s no doubt that with a Stanley Cup Trophy, Conn Smythe Award, three MVP’s, nine Maurice Richard Trophies and a Calder Trophy as top rookie, he’s a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. However currently standing 56 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for #1 all-time, he won’t catch the Great One with efforts like we saw Saturday night.

#2 – COACHING NOTES: You knew that Scotty Bowman, Paul Maurice and Barry Trotz are #1, #2, and #3 all-time for games coached in the National Hockey League. But did you know not one of them played a game of pro hockey? Look it up. … Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper is currently the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL, but he didn’t play a game of pro hockey either. “Coop” is a Notre Dame Hound from Prince George, BC.

#3 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK #1: “I checked with the NHL and they said only one team will win the Stanley Cup this June.” – Sirius/XM NHL Radio’s Scott Laughlin. My former co-worker at The Score sports network was chortling on the radio about fans having their hopes sky high in markets like Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and scores more in the US like Colorado, Vegas, Dallas, Colorado, New York (Rangers) and Boston for this spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. That’s a lot of teams who think they can win it all! As of today, Edmonton and Florida have the best odds to win the 2024 NHL championship at our official betting partner BetRegal.ca.

#4 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK #2: For some reason I felt like stirring it up so I posted to Facebook that the Regina Pats should retire Connor Bedard’s #98 immediately since he’s the great player in franchise history. That solicited hundreds of comments from people – most of them unfavourable and uninformed – but my favourite was, “If he’s so great why isn’t he still playing for them?” … You can’t make this stuff up folks. … Bedard’s #1 in Pats history. End of story. … No one’s called more Regina Pats games on radio & TV nor watched more Pats hockey than me. Y’er welcome.

#5 – DEADLY DUOS: The Flames beat the Oilers 6-3 Saturday night on Hockey Night In Canada and my good buddy Clarence Iron called the game in Cree. Despite the loss, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl moved within one powerplay goal of Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri for 3rd all-time in “powerplay goals combined on”. Connor and Leon have combined to scored 205 man advantage goals while Wayne and Jari scored 206 together. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are #1 all-time with 252 PPG while Daniel and Henrik Sedin are #2 at 251. Quite a stat.

#6 – TAKE FLIGHT: Winnipeg Jets Chairman Mark Chipman drew the ire of Winnipeggers this week for confirming something I said months ago — the longterm future of the NHL in Winnipeg is in jeopardy if the Jets can’t sellout every game or the season ticket base isn’t improved. Chipman’s comments pissed off the media and certainly the fans but all he’s saying is the truth and it’s opened old wounds from when the team left the first time in 1996. And it’s classic ‘What about-ism’ with people pointing to the current attendance and arena woes of the Arizona Coyotes. “What about them?” is the battle cry in Winnipeg right now. Here’s the difference: Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has never sounded the alarm bell about financial woes, nor hinted at his team leaving Arizona. He’s got more money than God (he’s deeply tied into the Arizona gambling industry, among other things) and it’s a completely different scenario than Winnipeg. It’s just a matter of time now.

#7 – CHICKEN BALLS: Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Mace took to Twitter this weekend to ask the Rider Nation what their suggestion is for the best Chinese food restaurant in the Queen City. The answer, of course, is all of them but if I’m ordering takeout, it’s Lee’s Chop Suey South. … Mind you the backroom of Lee’s Chop Suey East has hosted many meetings for Tony Rapushka, Pat Fiacco, a few other local dignitaries and myself. Tony did the ordering. … Mace is on top of the world right now as Rider coach and it’s great to see him embracing it. It’s fun to watch the fans lap it up too. As RP Show football analyst Jim Barker said last week, “The greatest job in the CFL is being head coach of the Roughriders. Till you lose.” … It’s too early for CFL West predictions yet, but those will be F-U-N. … Regarding Sask electing to keep Mason Fine over Jake Dolegala as QB2 in free agency (Jake signed with BC last week), Barker said we need to defer to Rider GM Jeremy O’Day because he’s in the market and has watched the two QBs the closest.

#8 – MORE CFL STUFF: It’s not make or break for those in Riderville, no matter how the 2024 season turns out. The braintrust all has multi-year deals. AMAZING! … However in Edmonton the word is if the Elks don’t have a winning season, Chris Jones is gone. That’s not news to anyone, including him. … Great to see Craig Dickenson resurfacing as a consultant with his brother Dave’s Calgary Stampeders. What a relief for their parents who no longer need to choose between the two! Lining up their resumes, it appears the Dickenson brothers haven’t worked together since 2009 when they were both assistant coaches on John Hufnagel’s Stamps staff. … FYI Craig also served as an assistant coach with the NFL’s Chargers & Raiders but liked the CFL lifestyle better. He could’ve remained in the NFL all this time if he’d wanted to. … Regarding the lawsuit filed against the Toronto Argonauts and accusations of sexual harassment against QB Chad Kelly which surfaced this week from a former female staff member, let’s hope for a speedy and peaceful resolution to the situation. And if Chad Kelly blew his last chance in the game, he deserves what he gets. However if this is a witch hunt, hopefully he has the chance to clear his name. I know NOTHING about the story and haven’t looked into it.

#9 – RING THOSE PHONES: It was a THRILL to be back on Telemiracle Saturday night passing along a donation to the Kinsmen Foundation from RP Show viewers. (Thanks to those who donated! For those who haven’t, you still can by clicking here). In the 80’s our Youth Group drove into Regina and tried to participate in the crowd but when we got to the Centre of the Arts, the front doors were LOCKED. Apparently you need to book ahead! 🙂  Saskatchewan remains the #1 region for viewership of the RP Show and we air in 70,000 Sask homes daily on Game+ TV. It’s nice to give back to the 306 with the help of our audience!! It’s been a 36-year career and the Sask people don’t forget. Love them always & forever.

#10 – FINAL RANDOM THOUGHTS: I want to meet Jon Taffer. … Carlyle, SK’s Haydn Fleury is the only single digit number in the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup at #7. … We are currently very much enjoying the series Griselda on Netflix. … John Frenzy used to say In The Huddle should air year-round on Access 7. I’m sure he was right, but I just didn’t have the time to host it due to Regina Pats duties. There’s a year-round Dolphins show which airs on Bally Sports Florida. We were watching it in the media room at Amerant Bank Arena Saturday night. Frenzy knows. … While we’re handing out thank you’s, a mighty thanks goes out to NHL fans in the State of Florida. Our Cats ‘N Bolts Podcast has become the most-viewed hockey show in the Sunshine State and we’ve been invited to attend more Lightning games on the Gulf Coast because of it. So we will! Habs & Bolts is on the docket next weekend along with the Braves & Blue Jays in Dunedin. … Funny how life works out! … America’s commercial casinos won $66.5 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry’s best year ever, according to figures released by its national trade association this week. The American Gaming Association said that total was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record-setting year. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen