The Monday Morning Goalie for SUDS
Photo: Montreal Canadiens
TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH
1 – AND THEY’RE OFF: The curtain rose on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs over the weekend and after a so-so Saturday, there were some doozies in a Sunday quadruple-header. In the opener of the series I’m most interested in, Juraj Slafkovsky had a hattrick for Montreal including the OT winner, as the Canadiens stunned the Lightning 4-3 in Tampa Bay. Bolts coach Jon Cooper is going to have to make some adjustments to slow down a Habs powerplay which struck three times. Elsewhere Colorado topped LA 2-1, Buffalo got past Boston 4-3 and Vegas tripped up Utah 4-2 in the other Game 1s.
In the Saturday tripleheader. The games were so-so as Carolina predictably blanked Ottawa 2-0, Minnesota flatout embarrassed the Stars 6-1 in Dallas and Philadelphia upended the Penguins 3-2 in Pittsburgh (that series is my pick for the Round 1 upset). … At age 19, Porter Martone became the youngest Philly Flyer ever to score in his postseason debut, and it was the game-winner. Simon Gagne, at age 20, had held the record until Saturday. … Kirill Kaprizov tied the Minnesota franchise record for career playoff goals (16) in the Wild’s rout in Texas. … Former Kamloops Blazer Logan Stankoven scored the winner for Carolina and it’s the third time “Stank” has scored in a series Game 1, tying him with Andrei Svechnikov and Dean Evason (ironically another Kamloops alum) for the most in Canes franchise history.
2 – THE PICKS: If you follow along with my daily Commentary at RodPedersen.com or on CKHD Hits Radio, you’ll already know my Round 1 picks but here they are again anyway: East – Tampa Bay, Carolina, Philadelphia and Buffalo. West – Edmonton, Vegas, Colorado and Dallas. … MEANWHILE: This is the first year in NHL history that all three teams in the Tri-State area are missing the playoffs; the Rangers, Islanders and Devils. … Islanders GM Matthieu Darche tried to copycat Vegas by firing his coach down the homestretch, tying a can to Patrick Roy in favour of Peter DeBoer. However it didn’t work like it did in Sin City. The Golden Knights enter the playoffs on a 7-0-1 run under John Tortorella while the Isles missed the playoffs. The lesson? Darche doesn’t have the pulse of his team like Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon. Few do. … Wouldn’t it be something if Stu Skinner led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final? Wouldn’t it be something more if it was against the Edmonton Oilers in Round 4? Unlikely, but possible.
3 – NOT THE BC LIONS ALUM: Data released by the Angus Reid Institute in Canada this week revealed that 72% of Canadians want a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup (I’m shocked it’s not higher, frankly). That’s up significantly from 2016 when 57% said the same thing. Elbows up after all! … Meanwhile the Montreal Canadiens are Canada’s rooting interest with 46% of Canadians polled saying they’re cheering for the Habs, compared to 34% for the Edmonton Oilers. That leaves 20% cheering for the Ottawa Senators to end the “1993 Drought”.
4 – LEAFLAND: The Toronto Maple Leafs got absolutely roasted by The Athletic in an in-depth expose this week and MLSE President Keith Pelley was made to look particularly bad. I’m skeptical of what I read anywhere these days but writers Chris Johnston, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel of this article have the journalistic chops, and credibility. Did you read it? The article quoted Leafs staffers as saying Pelley had a stack of trade possibilities generated by A-I and questioned then-GM Brad Treliving with them in the war room on Trade Deadline Day. I’ve known Keith for a lonnng time – including his prior stints running Sportsnet and the Argonauts – and can say he didn’t get to where he is by taking the easy, cheap way out. But if the reports are correct – and Keith wouldn’t be the first guy to run an outfit with computer generation – then MLSE is doomed. There’s a reason it’s called “Artificial” Intelligence.
5 – CHAT GPT: Do you ever remember a championship team crediting A-I as the reason they won it all? If I missed it, please show me because I don’t recall seeing it anywhere. One time I was having coffee with my Dad and one of his old scouting buddies (who will remain nameless although he probably wouldn’t care if I named him) scoffed at analytics. “You’re friends with those Arizona guys, eh?” he spat at me. “That Coyotes GM (John Chayka) is big on numbers they say. Have you ever seen numbers win a hockey game? Line numbers up across the blue line and see if they win a hockey game against actual players. F*%king numbers.” … That scout is part of the 2026 induction class of the Western Canadian Pro Scouting Foundation Wall of Fame. … Where is John Chayka these days anyway? And where are the Arizona Coyotes? … The New Jersey Devils hired Sunny Mehta away from the Florida Panthers this week as their new GM. Sunny is a former professional poker player and analytics savant, and was Ass’t GM in Florida. He’s a real nice guy with a disposition which matches his name, but I wouldn’t make a numbers guy the GM if I owned a team. I’d hire a hockey guy, but that’s just me.
6 – BATTLE OF FLORIDA: I touched off a controversy this week among Florida NHL fans – what can I say? it’s a gift – by asking Florida Panther fans if they’d cheer for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs? 68% said no, and the responses got quite heated. There was a lot of illwill spilled in four playoff meetings over the past five years between the Sunshine State rivals but for the 32% who said they WILL cheer for the Bolts, they said they want the Stanley Cup to stay in Florida. … Honestly it’s a simple illustration of how differently human beings think. We always will. Hopefully one day more people will be able to accept that. … Meanwhile Panthers coach Paul Maurice showed up to his year-end news conference Thursday in a golf shirt, shorts and sandals. Asked what he’s going to do now, PoMo answered, “Actually I think I’ll spend a month being a ‘Florida guy'”. … He’s going to find out, that it’s awesome.
7 – CFL: It was a good news/bad news week for the three down loop. The good news is that former Hec Crighton Award winner, QB Taylor Elgersma out of Wilfred Laurier, has signed with Winnipeg after failing to latch on in the NFL and UFL. At 6’5″, 227 lbs and possessing all the tools, he’s already being anointed as the “Next One” but incumbent Zach Collaros will have something to say about that. This signing has made Blue Bombers training camp likely the #1 storyline heading into the season. An RP Show viewer called Elgersma the “next Russ Jackson” this week. I’d pump the brakes on that. … The bad news was the CFL suspension, and subsequent release, of receiver Ajou Ajou by the Saskatchewan Roughriders for an off-field incident which violates the league’s gender-based policy. This news is big enough that it warrants a point of its own …
8 – AJOU: The Brooks, AB product is an NFL talent who played with three college teams before it was en vogue to do so (if you know what I mean). He bombed the CFL Combine and the Riders were the only pro team willing to take a chance on him, selecting him in the 7th round of the 2024 Draft. He appeared on the RP Show and corrected me for mispronouncing his name which, frankly, I didn’t mind at all. Ajou – pronounced ah-JOE – had single digit stat lines in the CFL but still earned a brief cup of coffee with the NFL’s Colts. He didn’t stick there, came back and won a Grey Cup, and now this. … Will he play in the CFL again? Probably, but not with the Riders. I found it ironic and even comical that Rider GM Jeremy O’Day was the one speaking on this because 20-some years ago, he was always the one speaking to the media on behalf of the team for the myriad of off-field circus acts his teammates were pulling in the Shivers/Barrett era. “Charged, but never prosecuted!” Shivers was famous for saying. … But it’s a different time now folks, and I’m shocked anyone in the Rider Nation would criticize the team for cutting Ajou. … As one team staffer texted me after the news, “What an idiot.” What more do you need to know?
9 – NFL: The 91st NFL Draft will mercifully commence on Thursday with Round 1 in Pittsburgh, and Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza going #1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. I say “mercifully” because it’s been weeks of endless, pointless, chatter over draft positioning, possible trades, and blah, blah, blah. The fact is, unlike last year where there was considerable drama in the top five picks, the drama ends after pick #1. And, as we mentioned here last week, Mendoza isn’t even going to be there! Still, the Draft is #2 to the Super Bowl in terms of excitement on the NFL calendar so OF COURSE we’ll be tuning in. … Perhaps ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. will have another MELtdown. … USA Today published free agency grades for NFL teams and the LA Rams finished highest with an A. My Dallas Cowboys were given a B-. They failed to deliver on the hype promised by Owner/GM Jerry Jones. The Jacksonville Jaguars were given the lowest grade, at D. … To read em all, pick up a subscription of USA Today, which I’ve had for over 30 years. Some things you just can’t shake!
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: I wish I was into Wrestlemania. I’m just not! … The Regina Pats are looking for a head coach and I’m told they haven’t targeted anyone specific at this moment. Sigghhh, I could talk about this for hours. The buzz in the hockey world is that the owner is scaring people off. … The Flin Flon Bombers have a 2-0 lead in the SJHL Final over Yorkton. The Centennial Cup is in Summerside, PEI. … 86% of RP Show viewers say they’re not following the NBA Playoffs. Noted! … I don’t need gambling to enjoy the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But it helps! :D. … Sometimes the smartest guys act dumb and more times, the dumbest guys act smart. … Our plans for Roller Hockey International 2.0 are coming along nicely, day-by-day. If it were up to me we’d be playing in the summer of 2026 but the target launch date is summer of 2028. I’ve learned patience! 12 markets have been identified but that number keeps fluctuating. … However we’ve already tabbed our first Commissioner, and it’s a doozy. … A 15-year-old boy says he feels “pretty lucky” after being struck by lightning in Central Park on Thursday when a round of thunderstorms swept through New York City. Yassin Khalifa, a high school sophomore, told WABC-TV he was in the park with friends enjoying a picnic when the storm suddenly rolled in. “I leaned up against a tree, and I told them, ‘Oh, guys, let’s ride out the storm,’ which in hindsight might not have been the best idea,” Khalifa said. Khalifa said he was soon struck by a lightning bolt and knocked unconscious for several minutes. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated for burns on his neck and leg. He’s expected to make a full recovery. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
I will clear up misconception. Shaun Semple oversees an $1B organization. If he wants to ask a question about a junior hockey team he is dumping money into then he will do so. They started from scratch and a sales call sheet. He knows what he is doing. They provided naming rights to that money pit the Pats play in. They installed a scoreboard prior to owning a team. They are a good corporate citizen. They do this in a city that despises private success. The Semples keep people employed and ride out market trends. The bottom line is this.… Read more »
Sounds like some dysfunction in Pats land. When the previous coaches weren’t renewed, the quotes made it sound like the GM had his guy. Now the Pats are actually seeking a coach on Saskjobs.
There’s no dysfunction. When Al gave an extension on his way out the door. Brian Burke did the same thing for Ron Wilson. A one-year extension is a working severance. Win you get an extension but keep an eye open and start preparing for an exit. If the former staff didn’t do that, they were naive. Dale didn’t hire the coaching staff he inherited it and provided them an opportunity. They also have two players coming that need a new voice/fresh start. As for saskjobs. The Pats are owned by Brandt. They would post a job through their corporate HR… Read more »