Scruffy’s This N That

1 – CH-CH-CHANGES AT THE ORANGE TOP: I asked last week in this space what the future of Brad Herauf might be as Regina Pats coach after the team made the playoffs following a 19-point improvement from the season before.  We got the answer to that question as Herauf is being let go after more than a decade in the organization.  I don’t know what went into Dale Derkatch’s decision to make the move and really whether you agree with it or not, the move has been done, and it is one that if he didn’t make this year, he couldn’t do it next unless the season was an absolute disaster.

As Pats fans know, Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue will begin their WHL careers full-time next season. We got a glimpse of what those two can do this season and there are many who are excited to see what this squad will do over the next three years with hopes the glory days will return.  One can not argue what type of pedigree John Paddock brought to the organization. His experience in the pro game helped tremendously in the Sam Steel, Adam Brooks, Connor Hobbs years and his time with Connor Bedard.  If Herauf isn’t going to be the guy after having the time he had with them and the many returnees the team will have in this past season, then Regina needs to go out and find someone like Paddock who has an NHL background. I’ve had people mention several names to me with Jamie Heward’s name coming up more than once. The former Pat is now with Vegas’s AHL team as an assistant. Does he want to come home and take up the challenge? If he does, he has to be the frontrunner, but I’ve heard some other names too. Some are realistic—others not so much.  For the good of the organization, it is something that needs to be completed before the May long weekend so that whoever has a full summer getting ready to hit the ground running. 

2 – BUCKLE UP:  The best time of the year for hockey fans starts this afternoon. Say goodbye to shootouts and 3-on-3’s as 16 teams look to get 16 wins and put their hands on the Stanley Cup.  We know due to the failure of the Panthers to get to the playoffs that someone new will get their hands on hockey’s holy grail and a lot of teams have a credible argument for doing that. EA Sports did their simulation, and it came back with Montreal beating Minnesota meaning sorry Habs fans, but a banner isn’t going up at Bell Centre if the past predictions are any indication.

Obviously, I would love to see the Oilers get that 16^th win but I’ll be happy if they can get four after a season that obviously didn’t meet expectations. Colorado might have won the President’s Trophy, and they are the favourite to win, but at this time of year there are no real favourites as Colorado certainly didn’t have a great second half after storming out of the gate. A long run for Buffalo would be great for them, but we all know that some kind of Bills-like heartbreak will hit them right? There are a lot of storylines to digest now and in the future so enjoy.  I called a Minnesota-Tampa final at the trade deadline, so I am sticking to that.  What have you got? 

3 – 1^st ROUND MATCHUPS:  This will either go very good or very bad so here we go

• Tampa over Montreal in 6
• Pittsburgh over Philadelphia in 7 
• Buffalo over Boston in 5
• Ottawa over Carolina in 7 

• Colorado over LA in 5 
• Utah over Vegas in 7
• Edmonton over Anaheim in 6
• Minnesota over Dallas in 6

4 – PENGUINS:  Remember how everyone in the off-season was calling for Sidney Crosby to be traded to a Stanley Cup contender? Turns out Sid is playing for a Stanley Cup contender.  There are things I hit on the head when it came to this season, but there are things I whiffed on, and the Penguins were one of them.  I was a guy that thought Pittsburgh might be the odds-on favourites to land the number one pick overall. Oops!! Sid once again showed us that he has found the fountain of youth, and he seemingly let Evgeni Malkin share his water bottle. Guys like Karlsson, Letang, Rust and Rakell will make Pittsburgh a tough out and let’s not forget that although his last two playoff runs have had their shares of ups and downs that Stuart Skinner was in the crease for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final the last two years.  How deep will the knife plunge into the Oilers if Skinner gets back to the Final for a 3^rd straight year? How deep would that plunge be if Pittsburgh beats Edmonton to win it all. OUCH!

5 – JETS: After last year, I don’t think anyone thought the Winnipeg Jets were a team that would not make the playoffs but here we are.  It was more than the Connor Hellebuyck injury in the first half of the season that prevented this team from competing in the second season. Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Gabe Vilardi were solid but after that—-not so much.  Winnipeg goes into the off-season with some nice young talent in Cole Perfetti, Isak Rosen, Brad Lambert and Brayden Yager with the latter three looking to bring some much-needed speed and offensive talent next year. 

Too many guys that were expected to contribute did not and their age means they will likely not be back and maybe adding another defenceman to go along with Morrissey and Neal Pionk is needed to shore up a back end that certainly wasn’t what it was at this time a year ago. Hellebuyck certainly let his feelings be known in a season-ending availability as to what has to happen. 

GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has done a good job in keeping the core together, but now he has to complement that core.  If he can do that, the Jets will have another “whiteout” when the playoffs begin this year.  That’s easier said than done though seeing Winnipeg is not a desired destination for many players. 

6 – THE BOWNESS EXPLOSION:  When Rick Bowness took the podium after a season-ending loss where he ripped his team and what his plans are for the future, I don’t think he knew if he was coming back, but the quick decision to keep him makes me think that maybe he did. If you didn’t see his rant after the Blue Jackets finished the season, go watch it.  It has people wondering if Bowness handled it the right way.  To me, it was a message sent from an old-school coach, but to others it was something that didn’t need to be said in public.  Bowness basically called his team a bunch of losers and that they suck.  If he tells his team that he is pissed off behind closed doors for the way they finished and then comes out and stays somewhat composed than we aren’t talking about it.  The message was certainly delivered though, and it can’t be argued with the way Columbus finished down the stretch.  They failed to show up when they had to. It is pretty safe to say they will look quite a bit different—at least they should but we know it’s a lot tougher moving guys this year because of no trade clauses.  Speaking of which…..

7 – NO TRADE CLAUSES: I hate no-movement clauses no matter the sport. It hamstrings teams from making substantial moves to improve their team. The days of the blockbuster trade are for the most part over because of NMC’s. Yes, there are players out there who don’t want to leave for various reasons including family, but even though we are a long ways away from a new CBA being established in hockey, this problem needs to be corrected.  Players in their mid 20’s should not have modified NMC’s or full ones.  Can a timeline be established? (ie: You can’t have an NMC until you have played in 500 games ( just under 6 years with an 84 game sked that is coming in next year) and then it gradually goes to a modified one with a full one hitting once a player hits the age of 31 or 32. Rosters are just too stagnant which has some teams in the position they are. 

8 – MLB IN THE COOV: Vancouver’s mayor wants a Major League Baseball franchise.  Ken Sim says the idea came up when Commissioner Rob Manfred told Sportsnet during the World Series that he wouldn’t mind a second Canadian team as baseball looks to expand. 

I’d love to see it, but I can’t see it. Who would the owners be and how much would it cost to get a franchise? I don’t think you want to play at B.C Place permanently which means you would have to build a stadium that would cost how much. 

Would the Mariners have something to say about it? Seattle has a great fanbase in B.C and that would obviously be eroded somewhat and the biggest problem might be the fact Vancouver is struggling to keep the Whitecaps in MLS.  If you can’t support a soccer team, how are you going to support a baseball team?

It can happen, but the chances of it occurring are slim.

9 – AJOU AJOU: Yikes! I had a couple of fans ask me late in the season and after it what I thought of the former Riders receiver and I couldn’t really offer an opinion seeing I am not around the team anymore. I just gave my opinion as to what I thought of him on the football field, and I’ll say that opinion wasn’t great as the guy doesn’t know how to block and it showed many times.

The CFL and the organization did their due diligence on this matter, and the punishment has been invoked. I don’t know exactly what happened in that restaurant hours after the Grey Cup parade, but enough people did and the decision was made. Good on the football team for cutting ties with him. Ajou was a popular player with the fanbase and while some can’t come to the acceptance that he has done something wrong, he is gone as the team is following through on its Code of Conduct much like they did with Kosi Onyeka.  If you don’t agree with that, I don’t care.  If you are one that went out and bought his jersey and there were a few, I would stuff it in a box and consider that an investment that looked good at the time but isn’t now.  

10 – A BIG LOSS FOR SASKATCHEWAN FOOTBALL:  I can’t finish this week’s column without observing the passing of Dwayne Masson who left us Friday after a battle with cancer. If you are a part of the Saskatchewan football community, you know what type of individual Mase was and how many young men he made better both in playing the game and being a human being. We had many chats during my time as Rams p x p guy over a beer or while on the bus.  He will be sorely missed by many.

*RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• The highly-talked behind the scenes article in “The Athletic” on the Leafs fall is a jaw-dropper and explains a lot. There’s a huge cleanup in aisle 4 kids and it will take a while to clean up.
• Are Steve Yzerman’s days in Detroit over? 
• It’s Wrestlemania weekend!  Enjoy it wrestling nerds and yes I am one of you!
• The WHL put out a Facebook post this week suggesting the Raiders-Blades rivalry is the best one in Saskatchewan. HAHAHAHAHA! It’s the Pats-Warriors and many of us know that even if the league doesn’t. PS: Congrats to Curtis Hunt and the Raiders. That will be a great series vs Medicine Hat.

That’s all I got.  Have a great week!