10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking Shots …

1 – HABS VS BOLTS: For the first time in NHL history the Montreal Canadiens will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final beginning Monday in Florida. The franchises have met thrice in NHL playoff history (2004, 2014, 2015) and the Lightning hold a 2-1 edge. … Montreal’s not my team but I got tingles reading the NHL PR game notes which said “The Montreal Canadiens are the most decorated team in NHL history”. They have my rooting interest in Round 4. Sorry Lightning Assistant GM Al Murray and defenceman Luke Schenn of Saskatchewan! … Incidentally this is the Lightning’s fourth trip to the Stanley Cup Final (2004, , 2015, 2020). … Meanwhile the Montreal Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups. … The Habs are the first Canadian team to appear in the Stanley Cup Final since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. Bring it home!

2 – DOESN’T WASTE EM: Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has five career playoff shutouts and four have come in series-clinching games such as Friday night’s 1-0 victory over the NY Islanders in Game 7. … Only Chris Osgood and Clint Benedict have more series-clinching shutouts in NHL history (5). … Furthermore “Vasi” is taking his team to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year and PLAYED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE! The only others to do that are Ken Dryden, Ed Belfour, Martin Brodeur and Marc-Andre Fleury.

3 – THE PRICE IS RIGHT: We’re all happy for Carey Price, the Montreal goaltender, former Tri-City American and pride of Anahim Lake, BC. A hockey guy in Prince Albert texted me this week and said, “When Montreal drafted Price your Dad told me ‘Price is good enough that those bastards will probably win a Cup with him’.” That’s the Old Guy speaking from the grave. Prove him right Carey! … Price has eight career series-clinching wins which moves him past Georges Vezina into 4th all-time in Canadiens history. He trails Ken Dryden (19), Patrick Roy (15) and Jacques Plante (13). How can you not love Montreal? And Carey Price? Well, clearly my Dad didn’t love Montreal.

4 – BOLTS NOTES: Moose Jaw Warrior great Brayden Point saw his goal-scoring streak snap at nine games in Friday’s 1-0 victory but if you’ve seen any of his interviews, he doesn’t care about that. He’d rather have another ring. As for the record, Reggie “The Rifle” Leach still owns it at 10 games. That’s the hockey gods for you. The stories about that guy are amazing. … The Lightning are the fourth team to reach the Stanley Cup Final at least four times since 1993. The others are the Red Wings (6x), Devils (5x) and Penguins (4x). Lou Lamoriello was guiding New Jersey in that period, and now he’s in charge of the Islanders. Toronto let him get away.

5 – #KNIGHTUP: There’s not much to be said for Vegas bowing out to Montreal in a six game semifinal. The turning point in the series was Marc Andre Fleury’s gaffe with a minute to go in Game 3 and a 2-1 lead in the game. The Habs won that game 3-2 in OT and never trailed the rest of the way. The Golden Knights were a different team for the rest of the series after that miscue. People have argued with that stance but I don’t care. That’s how I feel. Still, Vegas has made the Conference Final in three of their four years of existence and will always be a Stanley Cup contender under that braintrust. Next year!

6 – CFL: As we hurtle towards the kickoff of the 2021 CFL season on August 5, we continue to dissect the news that’s right in front of us. The planned controlled scrimmage between the Roughriders and Blue Bombers on July 24 in Regina has reportedly been shutdown by the powers-that-be. When I first heard of this scheme, I wondered how it would pass the Health & Safety guidelines and now clearly it hasn’t. To be clear, I think these Covid restrictions being placed on the CFL are ridiculously excessive – particularly after seeing 25,000 people gather shoulder-to-shoulder in downtown Montreal Thursday night with no government crackdown – but it is what it is. Players are grumbling far and wide about being housebound for an entire 2021 CFL season but I guess it comes down to how badly do you want to play? Which brings me to …

7 – HAPPY RETIREMENT: So many CFL players retired this week that I lost track. Brad Sinopoli, Anthony Parker, Derek Dennis, Justin Medlock, Courtney Stephen, Chad Geter, Braden Shram, etc. Who am I missing? If you read this blog’s daily commentary, I mentioned that at first these moves were head-scratching but upon further review, it’s not surprising at all. With the latest salary cuts, wages in the CFL are extremely low and it’s not worth it for the players above. As former Rider/Ticats/Stampeders receiver Bakari Grant Tweeted on Friday, “What’s happening in the CFL (retirement) is an example of how the pandemic is accelerating the death of the ‘middle class’.”

All that’s true. But what I’ve realized is that the fans don’t care. Buy your tickets, cheer on the green guys and go home right? Players come and go, I’ve been told.

8 – BOMBER VACCINATIONS: So we learned late this week that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will only allow fully-vaccinated fans to their games to start the season. My first reaction was, “Good. Hopefully every other team does the same.” Basically my reasoning was if this is what it takes to get going, let’s do it. But the backlash, complaining and whining across the country regarding this policy completely caught me off guard. Look: it’s your choice not to get vaccinated, it’s MY choice to get vaccinated (received my second shot on Thursday) and it’s the Blue Bombers’ choice to impose this restriction. I saw someone post to social media “What if I have an auto-immune deficiency and can’t get the vaccine?” Then I’ll say it on behalf of the Blue Bombers ticket office: “THEN I GUESS YOU’RE NOT GOING TO THE GAMES.”

9 – SINGLE GAME BETTING: I’m sure the vast majority of Canadians don’t fully grasp this week’s news that Bill C-218 has been passed in Ottawa and will allow for single game betting in Canada. I don’t fully get it either, but that’s because I’m not a big gambler. I’d rather spend $4 on a Starbucks coffee than blow it on a football prop bet. However I’m not aloof enough not to realize that this is huge for Canadian sports franchises and that betting is a multi-billion dollar industry. I also think the suits might be over-estimating how this will change the sports betting game in Canada but I guess we’ll wait and see! Good luck to them.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: The Regina Pats are looking for a new Communications & Brand Officer after Evan Daum resigned to join the CFL’s Edmonton Elks in a similar role. Lots of folks are buzzing about this news! Evan, the son of famed hockey coach Rob Daum, just started with God’s team in November but is gone seven months later. At least Evan can say he witnessed Connor Bedard’s rookie season! Bon chance Daumer and thanks for your professionalism and assistance! … Can you believe I’m considering watching Denmark/Wales in Euro 2020 on Saturday? Pedersen is of Danish descent. .. Poor Sandie Rinaldo doesn’t ever get a Saturday off on the CTV National News. I always thought she was a dead-ringer for Francine Dunlop in the movie Slapshot. … Does Elliotte Friedman ever wear the same suit twice on Hockey Night In Canada? … The Saskatchewan Rattlers pro basketball team tips off the 2021 CEBL season Saturday at 5:00 pm Sask time at Fraser Valley. You can watch the game for free on the CBC Gem app. I watched Niagara/Ottawa on Thursday with our good friend A.J. Jakubec calling the play-by-play from TD Place! … Can’t wait for the Friends reunion. … Former Roughriders defensive lineman Julian Miller as been named D-Line Coach at West Virginia University. … Does anybody else miss Don Cherry? … If you’re looking for something to do on a beautiful summer night, join me at Kings Park Speedway for stock car racing Saturday at 7:00 pm for Race Night #3. They’ll do it again Sunday at 2:00 pm.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

(Photo: Dave Randorf)