Scruffy’s This N That

1 – STILL OUR GAME: Connor McDavid sent a country into a state of ecstasy Thursday night as Canada won the 4 Nations Tournament with a heartstopping 3-2 OT win over USA. The Americans thought they had us where they wanted us after a 3-1 win in the round-robin and maybe they did because it gave Canada the kick in the pants needed to right the wrong. Sorry America, you just aren’t there yet, but yes you did get closer. You couldn’t beat us in Salt Lake City in 2002 and you couldn’t beat us in Vancouver in 2010. Our best was once again better than your best when it really counted. Do we see these two teams battling it out in Italy at this time next year for gold? That is a long ways away and I am sure the Czechs, the Swedes and yes, even the Russians will have a thing to say about it. In the meantime and in between time, just deal with the fact you are second best —— again!

While Canada is the big winner, the real winner is the NHL.  They got exactly what they wanted and then some.  I don’t think the league thought they would see the interest this event received. When you see how many people watched Thursday’s final, it isn’t hard to see that the NHL may have surpassed the NBA if it hadn’t already when it comes to fan interest. It is now up to the league to do what they can to keep that momentum going until playoffs and admittedly that won’t be easy. It will be up to ESPN and TNT to try and keep eyes on the game and if they can do it with the Tkachuk brothers so be it. Wouldn’t an Ottawa/Florida first round matchup be wonderful for American viewers?

2 – ADMITTING A MISTAKE: Sometimes you swing and you miss. That was certainly me when giving my thoughts on the Four Nations. I wondered about the intensity and if this tournament would be a little, but not a lot better than an all-star game. HAHAHAHAHA! Getting hockey like what we have seen in February has been welcome. This event had more intensity than a lot of regular season games and dare I say it, we might not see that type of intensity again until the final.

3 – BACK TO WORK: The Four Nations Tournament is over and now it is time for the stretch run of the NHL season as we get ready for playoffs. All the talk between now and the trade deadline will be what the contenders do as they try and knock the Panthers off the throne. 

The Winnipeg Jets come out of the break with the best record in the league and after the emotions of the Four Nations, will the return of the regular season be somewhat of a letdown for guys like Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey or will what they experienced over the past couple of weeks serve as a lesson for them as to what is needed come playoff time? We all saw the Jets bow out in meek fashion to Colorado last season.

Meanwhile, the Alexander Ovechkin watch will continue as the Great 8 nears closer and closer to a record that we all thought was unattainable years ago. How much of an advantage does Washington have as the season resumes knowing none of their players were competing at the Four Nations? They had a two-week rest which at this time year has to be an advantage isn’t it?

4 – DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME:  It’s getting down to crunch time in the WHL as teams have 15 or less games remaining. What a race in the Eastern Division as going into the weekend, the Brandon Wheat Kings lead Prince Albert by one point and those pesky Saskatoon Blades by two.

The Wheaties end the season with six straight games against Eastern Division foes — four of them against Regina and Moose Jaw. That might very well be the deciding factor as Prince Albert will play a home and home against the Blades to finish things off.

We are still a long ways away from the final battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, but I would have a hard time saying we aren’t going to see an Everett-Medicine Hat final. Landon Dupont vs Gavin McKenna?  Sign me up!

5 – WHL EXPANSION: It would seem as if the Western Hockey League is ready to grow. Stories late last week suggested Penticton would be the newest home with a team in Chilliwack also perhaps coming. The league isn’t saying anything and the BCHL’s Vees aren’t saying anything which means this is likely happening.

This is a direct result of the move to allow Canadian Hockey League players to play US college hockey. This is also a move that will reshape the BCHL and that has many smiling because of what they did to Junior A hockey when they grabbed a bunch of teams from the Alberta Junior League.

If it happens, this will be great for small market teams as the expansion fee will be between $10-$15 million from what I have been told which will be shared amongst the existing teams. Tell me the Warriors, Raiders and Broncos won’t appreciate that.

It is for that reason that I say this: I was asked by a junior hockey fan this week if this could spur the Estevan Bruins to try and get into the WHL saying they have the building and if Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and Swift Current than why not Estevan? If I am wrong with this so be it, but I don’t think any potential owner in Estevan has the money for an expansion fee. For what it’s worth, I have never heard anyone from the city say they would like to move up to the WHL. Never say never, but I don’t see another Saskatchewan team in the Dub anytime soon.

6 – GOODBYE WILCOX, HELLO WARMAN: I heard quite a while ago that there was some discussion at Notre Dame College about getting out of the SJHL. That talk seemed to have died down, but as we found out this week, it didn’t.

The Hounds will be moving things to Warman in what should be a good move for Saskatchewan’s Junior A loop.  The college has its reasons for not wanting to continue its Junior A program and I understand them. It’s a move that will in the long run be good for the college and its students.

That being said, it also means Junior A hockey fans in Regina will have to take a longer drive to Weyburn now instead of the short jaunt to Wilcox.

I have said since my days in the SJHL that a team is needed in Regina. Of course, in those days, the media was in a lot better shape than it is now as sports actually meant something to the newspaper and TV stations but I still think if the right people could be found and the money was there that an SJ team based out of the Co-Operators Centre could be a very good one for the league.  Saskatoon has its team….so let’s get one to Regina or as close to it as possible. Dare to dream!

7  – THE FUTURE OF THE BLUE JAYS: What is the future of the Toronto Blue Jays? This just in. They may not have one for a long time after the team could not come to an agreement on a contract extension with Vladimir Guerrero Junior by his self-imposed deadline.

As it stands right now, Toronto has botched this and botched it badly. Once again, GM Ross Atkins and president and CEO Mark Shapiro can take the blame.

Toronto tried to get Shohei Ohtani and failed. They tried to get Juan Soto and failed. Sorry folks, but while Toronto was in the running both knew that a bigger contract from a bigger and more appealing market was coming and they went to LA and New York respectively.

If you could offer Ohtani and Soto a tremendous amount of money, you sent the signal to the Guerrero camp that the money was there. I do find it interesting that neither side will talk about the number, but there is no reason to think Toronto could not have signed its franchise player to a 10 year, 400-million-dollar deal.

As a result, Guerrero can become a free agent and go anywhere. Toronto should probably trade him so they can get some assets in return, but they won’t because he is the only thing you can get excited about right now.  Seeing him have an MVP like season will increase his value and increase the odds of him not calling Rogers Centre home starting in 2026.

Try as they might, Toronto has been on a downward slide for the past couple of years and that slide is only going to accelerate if the team can’t find a way to keep number 27 in the lineup.

If Guerrero walks, chances are Bo Bichette does as well. Do you think this team can compete for a wild-card title with Davis Schneider, Daulton Varsho, Ernie Clement and Alejandro Kirk? If you do, you are swallowing what Buck Martinez is feeding you. Oh by the way, Varsho, Kirk and Kevin Gausman are free agents at the end of the 26 season.

I don’t know if Toronto can get back in the drivers seat, but with the history of Atkins and Shapiro I am guessing the days of seeing Guerrero pound a fastball 400 feet into the bleachers will be a thing of the past except for when he returns wearing another team’s jersey and yes that is because Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro have failed Toronto baseball fans miserably. 

8 – ROBO UMPS: Robot umps are happening during MLB spring training games. Commissioner/clown Rob Manfred likes the automated ball/strike system which could come into effect as early as the 2026 season to help home plate umps but not replace them.

Teams are able to challenge two calls per game and that challenge must come from the batter, pitcher or catcher. No dugout assistance is allowed, and the challenge must be made without delay. I’m not crazy about this and yelling at the home plate ump and his strike zone is as much a part of baseball as hot dogs, beer and ice cream in a plastic batting helmet.

If it is done right, I am OK with it, but with Rob Manfred making the decisions I know he will screw it up just like he has screwed up the TV contract with ESPN as the four-letter has decided to opt out. Manfred saying he feels the network doesn’t do enough to promote baseball on its platforms. That sounds like something the CFL commissioner could say about TSN, but I digress.

9 – SETTLE DOWN: There is some anger in the country over Wayne Gretzky’s appearance before the start of the Canada-US game on Thursday. The anger comes because Gretzky is a supporter of Donald Trump. Hey no one is perfect right? Some said that the honour should have gone to Bobby Orr seeing the game was in Boston.  Do those people know Number 4 is a Trump supporter too? The person that should have come out in my mind should have been Hayley Wickenheiser. We all remember her flag comments after Canada won gold in Salt Lake.

This again shows that if people can search for a negative they do so and they don’t hesitate to do so. We are all guilty of it though.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Next year’s Super Bowl is in San Francisco. Metallica’s home is San Francisco. We have not had a rock act at halftime at the Super Bowl in years. This has to happen next year right?
• Travis and Jason Kelce have a successful podcast. Could Brady and Matthew Tkachuk do the same thing and if so, would you watch?
• Isn’t it ironic that the one thing Canadians (including me) would be the weak link at the 4 Nations ended up being a strength. Jordan Binnington shut a lot of us up after the victory in the final. As it stands now, he has to be the starter for Game 1 of the Olympics doesn’t he? 
• I keep hearing people say Nathan McKinnon doesn’t pass the puck. Do the people who say that realize McKinnon leads the NHL with 66 assists which is nine more than the next highest player?

That’s all I got! Have a great week!