Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

2 – CFL NEEDS TORONTO – The CFL isn’t unlike Canada as far as how things are run.  The west props up everything but when it comes to making decisions, everything revolves around Toronto.  A CFL without Toronto isn’t a league whether you want to admit it or not.  Just look at the TSN contract.  If there is no Toronto, TSN doesn’t want to broadcast games despite numbers that indicate its fans from Saskatchewan and Winnipeg that pad the overall ratings.  

3 – IS THE LEAGUE THRIVING LIKE CANADIAN ECONOMY? – I know mainstream media tells us Canada is thriving as a country and voting polls would also seem to indicate Canadians are swimming in money as evidenced by the incredible popularity of the current federal government but I can’t help but wonder what the overall financial health of the CFL truly is when a professional league has to resort to putting 90% of its teams in the playoffs.  I also wonder about the changing demographics of the country.  Are the newcomers to Canada going to CFL games?  Is the CFL, quietly, abandoning the idea of being a legitimate professional league in the name of survival?  It’s possible that if they just came right out and said the long term viability of the league requires the fans to buy into certain gimmicks, I think it would get the support.  And, let’s be honest.  Saskatchewan and Winnipeg fans are going to complain but they aren’t going to stop backing their clubs.  

4 – CALIBRE OF PLAY – I’ve been talking for a number of years about the level of play in the CFL.  I don’t believe it’s maintained the level from 10-15 years ago yet the ticket prices have continued to sky rocket.  For the most part, I blame the spring leagues in the US as well as expanded NFL practice rosters but regardless of the reason, the CFL still has to find a way to elevate the quality of their on field product but I don’t think they can do that without paying players better yet they can’t pay players better if they don’t have the money to do so.  Is Trevor Harris, at 39, a better quarterback than he was at age 30?  Or did the rest of the league’s quarterbacks just come back to his level?  If the answer is A, we aren’t talking enough about what a freak of nature he is.  If the answer is B, more needs to be done to get better players into the league.

5 – EXPANSION WITH A NEW FOCUS – I don’t know how you could sell this nationwide, but I think the CFL would have better luck re-inventing itself as a smaller but bigger league.  Play in smaller stadiums but have more teams and focus more heavily on Canadian player content.  It would be a tough go in the East, but a western league with Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Kelowna, and maybe a northern centre like Fort McMurray or Grande Prairie would be intriguing if they played to 10,000-15,000 fans.  I’m simplifying the model in the interest of space for this column but if you had a few superstar imports to boost the overall product, I think it would sell.  That’s also the CFL’s problem right now.  There are no Pinball Clemons, no Gizmo Williams, no Matt Dunigan types out there who have larger than life personalities who can back it up with their play and are marketable.

6 – OILERS POST MORTEM – I’m going to be in the minority here and defend the Edmonton Oilers, or at least disagree with what everyone thinks they need in order to better contend for a Stanley Cup.  First of all, they have been to the finals twice in a row and have now lost in the first round to make up for how their years have gone since 2024.  Most franchises would be envious of this track record.  Imagine the Maple Leafs going on back to back trips to the finals and then losing in the first round.  Sure, the first round loss is disappointing and yes there are holes on the roster and there is a sense of urgency to win while Connor McDavid remains an Oiler but life really hasn’t been all that bad if you are an Oiler player or fan over the last three years.

7 – MCDAVID/DRAISAITL – In listening to McDavid and Leon Draisaitl go on about how the Oilers have taken a step back and need to, massively, improve makes me chuckle.  McDavid had no points in the elimination game six and had no points in the first two games of the series.  Draisaitl had 10-points in 6-games which looks good on the surface but he was never the best player on the ice in any of the games I watched.  If the Oilers are to win or even get close to being in the finals, they need those two superstars to be the best players on the ice more often than not.  The fact they got to six games with those two having a sub-par series is a testament to some of their depth.  The goaltending wasn’t awesome but it was better than what they got from Stuart Skinner in both years when they went to the final.  I’d also submit it was better than what Carter Hart has given Vegas and yet the Knights are into round two.  Yes, the defense needs to be better.  Yes, the goaltending needs to be better.  But, they also have to play a different style.  I watched Carolina obliterate Philadelphia last night with their pace and I wonder why can’t the Oilers do that?  If I was to bet, I’d say the only way Draisaitl or McDavid win a Cup is by joining a team that has already won and doesn’t really need them.

8 – NHL OFFICIATING – Last week, I wrote about how bad NHL officials are and someone commented that I was being unfair because it would have been impossible for one of the officials to be in a physical position to see Ridly Greig sucker punch Sean Walker while he was being held.  Keep in mind, this melee was child’s play compared to how NHL games would unfold 40-years ago when there was only one referee on the ice and I’d submit there has been no improvement with two of them watching what’s going on, and in fact I’d say in a lot of games the officiating has gotten even worse.  But never mind that.  Last Sunday in Anaheim, all four officials were so far up the ice they may as well have been standing on the Golden Gate Bridge and yet somehow they were able to see the puck cross the goal line at live speed in real time to decide game four’s overtime game between the Ducks and Oilers.  So, if it’s possible to see a puck an inch over the line from the position they were in, it’s definitely possible to see Greig sucker punch a defenseless player.  By the way, the correct call was made.  It was a goal.  But the way the NHL has done things in the past, they don’t really permit logic to be a factor when ruling with video replay.  So based on that, it should have been ruled no goal because you couldn’t actually see the puck all the way across the line even though it was easy to make that determination.

9 – CEBL MAMBA – The Saskatoon Mamba are filling out their roster for the upcoming CEBL season and the signing of Jaylin Williams intrigues me.  Williams played for Winnipeg last year and averaged just over 9-ppg but he scored over 20 in three of his first four to start the year when he was given more playing time.  If I was to guess, I’d say it’s Williams who the offense is going to run through.  Jamir Chaplin, who averaged 17.8-ppg through 10-games before getting hurt, has re-signed for 2026 so that gives the Mamba two legit scoring threats.  Former Rattler standouts Tony Carr and Tevian Jones are back in the CEBL but playing for other teams.  Carr, who was league MVP level in 2022 but hasn’t played in the league since, is joining Montreal while Jones led the Rattlers with 20.9-ppg last season, has signed with Vancouver.

10 – WHL EXEC PASSES AWAY – Matt Davidson, the Director of Player Personnel for the Portland Winterhawks, died this week and while his official cause wasn’t released it was noted that he’s long battled mental illness and addiction.  Matt’s father Blair played for the Flin Flon Bombers in the early 1970s and Matt’s hometown on Elite Prospects is listed as Flin Flon.  Matt’s son Hyde finished this past season as a member of the Swift Current Broncos and is headed into his 20-year-old season.  I’ve talked, at length, about the increase in young people dying over the last five or six years and nobody seems to want to do a deep dive into it but the fact remains is that I’m seeing way too many of these and every one is sad and tragic and I can’t help but wonder if also somehow preventable.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)