MONDAY COMMENTARY – WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES …

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

We’re coming in hot into a brand week after a scorching sports weekend!

First off, their record may not necessarily show it but the Winnipeg Jets have to be considered the #1 NHL team in Canada.

In fact at 13-6-1, they’re actually Canada’s #2 team behind the Leafs, with the ninth-best record overall.

But they’ve got one of the NHL’s best goaltenders in Connor Hellebuyck, who was sterling in Sunday’s 7-2 trouncing of the Blackhawks in Chicago. It’s a far better crease than Toronto’s.

The biggest difference with the Jets from a year ago is obviously the coaching change and you’ve got to give Paul Maurice credit for recognizing that his time was up, and he made the tough decision to step down on December 16.

He never pointed any fingers on his way out of town, and didn’t call out any players.

It’s one of the reasons I love sports so much; it’s such a microcosm of life. All you have to do is pay attention. 

When your time is up, it’s up. If you don’t realize it yourself, the universe will bonk you over the head with it.

And when one door closes, a better one opens.

Case in point is Mason Nyhus. You can guarantee there were many tears shed in the Nyhus family after the UofS Huskies lost the Vanier Cup in a thriller against Laval on Saturday, in Mason’s last-ever university game. I’ve been close with the Nyhus family since I was a teenager.

Back-to-back losses in the national championship is soul-crushing but my bet is by the end of the week Mason signs with his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Being added to the negotiation list is one thing, but signing is another altogether.

It just makes too much sense for it not to happen.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio)

Photo: Winnipeg Jets