The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS
Photo: Cats N Bolts Podcast
Truth & Rumours For SUDS Car Wash
1 – THE BIG APPLE: When I perused the NHL schedule way back in the summertime, this past particular weekend jumped off the page. The Florida Panthers were in New York for a Saturday 1:00pm faceoff against the Islanders, and a Sunday 1:00pm faceoff against the Rangers. Sign me up! Although the non-playoff bound Cats got trounced 5-2 on Long Island on Saturday, I got to see Matthew Tkachuck score the Goal of the Year (check out the highlights if you missed it), was lucky enough to interview Matthew after, and see the Islanders leapfrog Pittsburgh and Columbus into second place in the Metropolitan Division. An added bonus was seeing rookie phenom #1 pick Matthew Schaefer net a pair of assists for the Isles and move within one point of Phil Housley’s record (57) for points by an 18-year old defenceman. Sunday’s result wasn’t much better, as Florida got upended 3-1 by the Rangers, but it was fun and there were plenty of Panthers fans to hang with who made the same road trip!
2 – THE BARNS: When UBS Arena opened on Long Island in 2021, Isles great Clark Gillies invited me down to watch a game in the Alumni suite and, to use his words, “be treated the way we deserve!” I never made it, and sadly the Moose Jaw product and Regina Pats great passed away a year later from cancer. I shed some tears when looking up at his name in the rafters on Saturday. Val Marie, SK’s Bryan Trottier was on hand, doing alumni stuff, but I didn’t look him up this weekend. Trotts and I’ve done events together in the past but we’re not close like Clark and I were. Trottier was never a Pat! The highlight of the weekend truly was seeing Madison Square Garden on Sunday: The World’s Most Famous Arena. Mark Messier was right; you feel the vibe the second you enter the building. Clark’s passing taught me a lot. Don’t wait.
3 – AROUND THE NHL: The Vegas Golden Knights knocked the hockey world on its ear by firing head coach Bruce Cassidy on Sunday with eight games to go. Frankly the Golden Knights have underachieved all year so this comes as absolutely no surprise to me. Whadda they say? “You can’t fire 20 players but you can fire one coach”? GM Kelly McCrimmon doesn’t make these moves lightly but knows exactly what his team needs in times like this. We’ll see if it works out! When I said I never lost faith in the VGK, I should’ve said I’ve not lost faith in Kelly McCrimmon doing whatever it takes to win.
4 – FOR THE MEDIA WAGS: I was surprised to walk into the press box at UBS Arena on Saturday on Long Island and see a massive sign and mini-museum honouring the “Stan Fischler Press Level”. You don’t see the media honoured too often, anywhere. The youngsters have no idea who Stan is, but he covered the NHL for 70 years and has written over 90 books. As a kid, we used to tear through The Hockey News to get to Fischler’s columns on the NY teams back in the day. Stan turns 94 on Tuesday, but still writes a newsletter daily despite, I’m told, living in Israel! Why am I bringing this all up? Because there’s a sign on the wall in the display with a quote from Fischler that says “You have to accentuate the positive!” Everything’s come full circle in this business now whereby if you’re positive, you truly stand out because everybody’s in a race to be negative and crap on each other. I wonder what Stan thinks about the state of the industry he helped build, today.
5 – SPEAKING OF: It may not have reached your circles but Minnesota Wild TV broadcaster Anthony LaPanta enraged South Florida fans and hockey types on Thursday evening by posting a photo of some empty seats at Amerant Bank Arena and Tweeting “Good to see that all those ‘diehard life long Panther fans’ that were seen in public for the first time ever during the Stanley Cup Finals have gone back into hiding’. As one Panther staffer said to me, “If I posted that, I’d be fired”. Yet, as of today, the Tweet still stands. I’ll join Mr. Panther Bill Lindsay in asking Mr. LaPanta, “Why?” And if you really wanna know how much the blood is boiling in the Battle of Florida, Lightning fans and media types are chuckling and chortling saying Panthers fans are only mad at this because it’s true.
6 – THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: It is. Hockey playoffs. And the City of Regina will have come alive after the Regina Pats upset the Tigers 4-2 in Medicine Hat on Saturday to tie up that first round series 1-1 coming back to the Dome. So far the first round series are: Saskatoon 1 Edmonton 1, Calgary 2 Brandon 0, Prince Albert 2 Red Deer 0, Kelowna 2 Kamloops 0, Everett 2 Portland 0, Penticton 2 Seattle 0, Prince George 2 Spokane 0. … In the SJHL, Flin Flon and Battlefords have advanced to Round 2, while Weyburn leads Nipawin 3-2 and Yorkton leads Melville 3-2.
7 – HAIL TO THE PAT C’S: No one has won more Telus/Air Canada Cups than the Regina Pat Canadians and they’ll have a chance to win another after outlasting the Moose Jaw Winmar AAA Warriors in the Sask U18 league final this weekend. Trust me, I’m following it all and know Pats fans are salivating at the future with prospects Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue doing nothing but winning in Red, White & Blue already. Next season the Pats will have the pair full time but for now, it’s tremendous to see what they’re doing. GO PATS GO
8 – CFL COMBINE: The National Combine is going on in Edmonton and while I’ve never had much interest in it, I was happy to witness the Saskatchewan Roughriders mini-combine (i.e. free agent camp) last Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Rider GM Jeremy O’Day was gracious enough to allow me onto the field to take some photos and listen to him address the hopefuls. I also had occasion to chat with the coaches in attendance and they’re extremely optimistic about the 2026 CFL season, as defending champs. Yes, they lost some key pieces, but that’s the price of success and it was me who said, “We’re not used to that” (it never leaves you). The Riders are very pleased with who they were able to re-sign.
9 – AWARDS: It does seem a little odd that the CFL would hand out last season’s Coach of the Year and the inaugural Ted Goveia Award for top Football Operations department in March just prior to the Combine, but they’ve got the right idea. It just seems too long to wait, and a little anti-climactic, especially after we ALL knew that Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace would take the honour. And it came as no surprise to me that the teams would vote Saskatchewan as the winner of the Ted Goveia Award because, if we’re awarding these things on merit, then it was a no-brainer. Perhaps the teams should vote on ALL the awards, rather than media? Just a suggestion. … With the Hall of Fame debacles in the NFL and other award mishaps, you’re finally seeing how things have worked for decades. Frankly it’s really turned me off.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Best line I heard about Tiger Woods this week – “He’s the world’s best driver on the teebox and the world’s worst driver on the road”. … Floridians are pissed at Tiger, saying this is why our car insurance rates are so high. … Same call it stalking. I prefer to call it *research*. … They charge you to sit down at Starbucks in New York City. … “Sometimes you have to fight to be a man.” – Kenny Rogers. … You can’t wear brown shoes with a black suit. C’mon man! … Sitting here writing this while listening to the sirens wail down below in Times Square, it’s confirming that I live in the right place. … The patient in Room 373 refuses to leave. Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare earlier this month sued the patient, saying she has refused to depart her hospital room since being discharged last October. The hospital also has asked a state judge in Tallahassee for an injunction ordering the patient to vacate the hospital room and authorizing the county sheriff’s office to assist if necessary. The hospital said that resources have been diverted from helping other patients because of her occupation of the room. “Defendant’s continued occupancy prevents use of the bed for patients needing acute care,” the hospital said in the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, the woman was admitted to the hospital for medical treatment and a formal discharge order was issued Oct. 6 after it was determined that she no longer needed acute care services. The hospital has repeatedly made efforts to coordinate her departure with family members and offered transportation to obtain necessary identification, the lawsuit said, however she won’t leave. No attorney was listed for the patient, who is representing herself. Phones numbers listed in an online database for the patient were disconnected. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
“Val Marie, SK’s Bryan Trottier was on hand, doing alumni stuff,”
My favourite NHLer of all time.
I remember him competing in the Boy’s Steer Riding at the Val Marie Rodeo.
Then about 40 years later, on rodeo weekend I walk into the Val Marie Bar and there’s Bryan on stage playing his guitar.
What a guy.
The Islander’s Dynasty is finally getting it’s due. I don’t think the kids quiet comprehend the only way to defend Trottier/Bossy/Gilles was simply to get off the ice when they came on. If they do that the +/- wouldn’t be on their stat sheet. I’m still in disbelief of how R Word some GMs were back in the day. The NHL was a Lions vs Lambs scenario. Bryan was pushed out of Long Island – he goes to Pittsburgh as the third line center…. think about that one. Pittsburgh also got Ron Francis as the second line Center. To my… Read more »