Scruffy’s This N That

1 – ARGOS 40 RIDERS 34: You knew the Riders were not going to go 18-0. You had some worries about the team after the way they played in Calgary, and they did nothing to alleviate those concerns on Friday night losing 40-34 to the Argos. There is still a long ways to go in the season, but it is safe to say this defence is not even close at this time to what it was last year. Chad Kelly had his way with the Saskatchewan secondary. The touchdown at the end of the first half is something that just can’t happen. That being said, the Riders thanks to another great night by Trevor Harris, just about pulled it out. I am not sure why they elected to kick to start the 2^nd half, and I am not sure why it was decided Sam Emilus should return punts once James Letcher got hurt, but that was a decision that blew up in their face as Emilus got hurt. Was there no one else you could put out there? Having one of the game’s top receivers returning kicks is not the way to go.

The injury did provide local product Daniel Wiebe a chance to shine though. I think those of us who watch Canada West Football know what type of player Wiebe was with the U of S and that he has the chance to be a real good CFL player. If the debut was any indication, the Riders have themselves a good one. They may also have a good one in Quali Conley. I was impressed with his effort as he took over for the injured AJ Ouellette. When AJ gets back on the roster, I would love to see Conley stay on it and get some plays as he could make what already is a strong run game even stronger.

2 – PRAIRIE BLIZZARD UNIS: Much like the watermelon jerseys from a few years ago, the Riders can take those white jerseys and throw them in the nearest trash bin. Thankfully, it was a one-off. I received numerous texts from people at the game who were not happy with those jerseys because you couldn’t read the numbers. Watching on TSN, Dustin Nielson was doing his best to figure out who had the ball or who was making the tackle. I was struggling to see it as well. This idea CFL teams have had to have white jerseys with numbers that are tough to read is not a good look.

3 – RIDER FINANCES: The Riders won the Grey Cup and lost $157-thousand. I would have thought the merchandise sales alone from late November would have been enough to give them a healthy profit, but nope!

The club says the impact of the postponed game against Calgary is a big reason for the loss, but let’s also take into account that they had to pay out a lot of bonuses that players had for winning the Grey Cup, they took the trophy from one corner of the province to the other and they were on the hook for those fancy rings that they deserved. I am guessing the cost of the rings alone might have turned a deficit into a profit. If that’s the cost of winning the Grey Cup, so be it I guess.

4 – OH OTTAWA: I hope the Ottawa RedBlacks weren’t trying to ease the loss of Brady Tkachuk for sports fans in the nation’s capital by going out and signing McLeod Bethel Thompson. The RedBlacks are bad enough and I expect them to get trounced in Montreal on Sunday. The decision to go with Jake Maier ahead of Dru Brown at quarterback has backfired as Maier has not looked good and now Brown is gone having been traded back to Winnipeg. I don’t think MBT is going to make things any better. The move is being criticized all over the place with those who bleed red and black asking what are you doing? I don’t disagree.

5 – THEY’RE BACK: Ok Edmonton, it’s time. I know changing the name from the Eskimos to the Elks angered many of you. I know many of you basically had no desire to plop down your dollars to a team that didn’t win a home game in over 2000 days and I know moves were made by the organization that weren’t popular. It is time to let that go. The best marketing is winning and the Edmonton football team is doing that. If the stands can be full for international soccer games in the snow and rain, it can get back to being a desired destination for football fans in the Edmonton area and northern Alberta. I don’t know what type of fanbase the team has in the Whitecourt-Grande Prairie-Peace River-Slave Lake area these days, but when I worked in Peace River in the early 90’s there was a lot of interest and yes, the team and league were in much better shape then than it is now.

Bottom line is the Edmonton football team is back. They are 3-0 after Thursday’s win over Winnipeg, It’s the first time they have started a year with three straight wins since 2017. Cody Fajardo continues to shove it up the you-know-where of his detractors, Justin Rankin might be the best player in the CFL this year to this point of the season, and their defence is getting it done. Mark Kilam has done a great job with this team since taking over and they very well could be a team that hosts a home playoff game. Who’s kidding who, they are the only undefeated team left in the CFL.

When you go to Commonwealth, you know the organization doesn’t really advertise the “Elks” name in many places as they defer to the traditional “EE” logo. The problems that have plagued this team appear to be over so it’s time to start supporting this squad again and get off the list of problematic teams.

6 – BROTHERS UNITE: As I said on the RP Show Monday when asked about the trade that sent Brady Tkachuk to Florida to reunite with Matthew — what took you so long? This didn’t surprise me in the least. If the truth be known, I think this deal could have been made last year if it weren’t for the fact the Panthers knew it might be tough sledding with Aleksander Barkov being sidelined for the season and Matthew missing a good chunk of the season due to his torn adductor surgery.

Yes, this makes the Panthers go right back into the top teams in the East echelon, but are they better than Tampa, Buffalo and Montreal in the Atlantic? They have a formidable group of forwards who are all one year older, but their defence and goaltending doesn’t scare anyone and really it didn’t last year. The Stanley Cup window has opened a little, but as it stands right now, I am not taking them to be the top dogs in the East.

7 – LET THE BABCOCK ERA BEGIN: No one thought it was actually going to happen, but it has. Mike Babcock is the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. I just don’t see this ending well and after his news conference Tuesday where he basically showed no remorse or regrets for the past, I just wonder if the hockey team realizes that it may have signed a deal with the devil.

I understand not every player is going to have a rosy relationship with their coach if he is hard-nosed, but coaches don’t do what Mike Babcock has allegedly done — and we may never know the exact details on that.

I am sure this will not end well, but time will tell. As someone told me the other day, the New York Rangers had all the talent to win the Stanley Cup in the 1990’s, but they needed Mike Keenan to push them over the top and he did that in his first season. Could that happen in Edmonton? We will find out.

All I do know is that Connor McDavid is all for this move and he did not hide the fact that perhaps coaches of the past have been guilty of letting him and others get away with things and that sometimes a kick in the ass is needed whether they like it or not. Babcock will do that and it will be up to 97, 29 and others to suck it up. He had some very interesting things to say to both Mark Spector and Ryan Rishaug about the previous few seasons. He wants Babcock to come in and be hard on him and the others and push them to a Stanley Cup.

Did Connor forget they got to the Stanley Cup Final for two straight years under Kris Knoblauch? I don’t think this ends the way McDavid and his teammates that pushed for this want it to end, but let’s see what happens. If I have to eat crow, I’ll gladly head to Sobeys and get some barbecue sauce in about 49 weeks.

Oh yeah, the one difference between Keenan and Babcock was Mike Smith was a good general manager.

8 – NO TRADE CLAUSES: When it comes time for a new labour agreement to be passed in the NHL, the league and the players association need to do something about no trade clauses or partial no-trade clauses. I had to laugh when I heard both Connor Murphy and Jason Dickenson got no trade clauses in their new contracts with the Oilers and they aren’t alone. It seems as if a large majority of players no matter their age or getting one which hamstrings a team severely. I heard someone say that over 225 players have no-trade clauses of some kind in their contract. That’s insane and limits teams from improving their squads tremendously.

There has been talk about players having to waive their no-trade clauses when they say they want to leave citing Dylan Larkin, Brady Tkachuk and Darnell Nurse as examples. I don’t disagree. However, I think once a player has reached a certain level, he is welcome to have something in his contract about where his next stop might be. Teams are getting players when they hit the age of 18. Can we come to some kind of an agreement where a player can get some form of a no trade clause when they have either played so many games (700 games which is just over eight seasons) or they hit a certain age–let’s just go with 31 or 32. Guys in their 30’s still have a lot to give and chances are some of them are working on their last contract. A guy who is 31 signing a new deal that is four or five years isn’t likely to get another big one at 36 or 37 so give him the option as to where he would like to be placed if there is trade talk around him.

I am sure there are holes in that plan, but it is better than what we’ve got now isn’t it?

9 – CAPITAL GAINS: The Washington Capitals are quietly letting people know they intend to challenge Carolina for first in the Metropolitan and become a force in the Eastern Conference. It cost them a lot in Connor McMichael, but adding Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch to a forward group that already includes Tom Wilson, an improving Alexsei Protas, Ryan Leonard and the likely return of Alex Ovechkin and it is safe to say they are solid on the wing. The number one and two center spot might be weak with Ryan Strome and Pierre Luc-Dubois but bumping those guys to 2 and 3 if you were to get Dylan Larkin would turn some heads.

NHL DRAFT THOUGHTS:

I loved Gary Bettman egging on the fans as they booed him, I would have loved for him to go full wrestling heel and storm backstage with his hands over his ears.
I would not want to be Caleb Malhotra playing for his Dad. That’s going to be a weird dynamic especially when the first sign of trouble hits. Vancouver did not do themselves or Malhotra a favour.
I love the Pavel Dorofeyev trade to the Rangers and how about Vegas? Kelly McCrimmon started the night without a pick until the third round in this year’s draft and he walked out of Keybank Center getting a first rounder, another first in the 28 draft, a third in 2026, a third in 2027 and a fourth in 26. How is Kelly not considered for the top GM in the league?
San Jose keeps their picks and gets Stenberg and Verhoeff. The Sharks are going to be contenders again very soon

10 – NOW THE FUN STARTS: From 48 to 32, the World Cup gets down to the nitty gritty now as group play ends Saturday with single elimination games beginning tomorrow. To see Canada rally around the flag, which is something we have had problems doing for the past few years, has been tremendous. To see nations marching with pride to the stadium has been an eye-opener to many. I think a lot of people are seeing how great the game can be and the stars like Messi, Mbappe, Kane and others have shown up.

For Canada, we are now part of the global game and that we are right there. The coming out party was cemented after a dominant effort over Qatar. We are no longer happy to be here. We are here to win and on Sunday, I will watch with great interest as Canada looks to move into the round of 16. Realistically, that is where it probably ends as they will play either the Netherlands or Morocco in that round but while the women’s program arrived a few years ago, the men’s program has now arrived and the stay won’t be a short one.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

When the NHL schedule comes out, the Florida Panthers have to open their season in Ottawa right? There are no ifs, buts or maybes about it.
Can someone tell me how Curtis Joseph and Mike Richter are not members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, yet Pekka Rinne will go in? When will Theo Fleury get in? Nvm, I I know the answer to that, and you do too.
Good on the CFL for sending a box of goodies to Jon Gruden in a video that will get a lot of views. The next thing is for Gruden to get an invite to the Grey Cup.
I love how Scotland fans for the World Cup had so much fun at baseball games in Boston and Miami with Norway fans having a blast at a Mets game. Talk about enjoying the experience!
The best story of the week was the Miami Marlins looking for, and finding, a dog that looked so heartbroken as another dog near him feasted on hot dogs during a promotion at a recent game saying he will have a great day at a future game. Look for the video if you don’t know what I’m talking about. It should leave you smiling.