THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

WORTH THE WAIT …

1 – #WeAreWPG: Do we need anymore evidence that the Stanley Cup Playoffs truly are a different season than the regular year? The Winnipeg Jets have their first 3-0 series lead in franchise history after pants’ing the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in OT Sunday night, eliminationg a 4-1 deficit with 8:19 remaining. They’ll have the chance to complete the sweep Monday night and it’ll be mighty difficult for Edmonton to shake off such a soul-crushing loss. The Jets are the 10th team in NHL playoff history to win a game after trailing by 3 goals with under 10 minutes remaining. (The Oilers were the losing team in 2 of the last 3 occasions).

2 – BLAME GAME: Scruffy pointed out to me that Dave Tippett is now 1-6 all-time in the playoffs for the Edmonton Oilers. I countered that unless Dave’s actually able to play, there’s not much he can do. The Oilers remain a fragile, seemingly immature team and their odds of winning this in seven games are pretty flat. Edmonton should’ve found a way to sign Braden Holtby in the off-season.

3 – JETSTREAM: Truth be told, I chose Edmonton to take this series in 6. Why wouldn’t you given the way the regular season ended? The Oilers were the Scotia North Division’s hottest team going into the playoffs while the Jets had lost 9 of 10, including a 7-game losing streak. I correctly predicted the Jets would snap out of it in time for the playoffs – they’re just too good of a team – but I didn’t see this coming. For Games 1 and 2 they held Connor McDavid at bay by not letting him get wound up nor drive to the net. He did that in Game 3 however, but 17 other players around him wilted. Ho-lay!

4 – THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: We’re learning, once again, that momentum going into the playoffs means nothing. We’re also learning that home ice doesn’t mean anything either. What means a lot are goaltending and team defence. Sorry to spend so much time on this series but it’s the one I’m watching the most. Now we wait to see if they finish it off Monday night.

5 – CFL: It was a good week to have off and observe the CFL situation from the outside. To recap, various team owners, presidents and coaches teased that there WILL be a 2021 season but when the CFLPA pressed them for details and a guarantee, they couldn’t provide one. The positive statements had the desired outcome I suppose, since ticket sales spiked across most CFL markets. I’m still scratching my head why since we don’t have a 2021 schedule? I told a national media member that I don’t want to report anything any longer because I don’t want to come off as a negative troll. His response was, “As long as you keep reporting the truth you have nothing to worry about.” Maybe, but I’m still leaning towards checking out on this till August. I’ve lost my zip for debating/arguing over the CFL/XFL merger and the importance of retaining the Canadian game. The infighting has become too toxic and people are saying things publicly that they’ll never be able to come back from.

6 – THERE WILL BE FOOTBALL: We’ve been in touch with all kinds of players and coaches at the USPORTS level in all sports, but particularly football. They have their schedule and it’s about to be released. THIS is exciting! We can expect junior football to hit the field as well. The plan is for me to be in the broadcast booth for it. Meanwhile the only thing limiting the CFL is crowd size but that’s not a concern at lower levels of the game. Justin Dunk floated the notion on the RP Show that the quickest way back onto the field for the CFL is for a bubble in Western Canada. That sounds great, but if they haven’t come up with something by now, they won’t.

7 – THE HURDLES REMAIN: This spring I outlined three hurdles to the CFL returning to play but it’s grown to four – 1) The Virus Variant, 2) Money, 3) Getting all nine teams to play, and now 4) Will people want to come to the games? Polls in some major markets have resoundingly voted no. The CFL’s inability to pivot and/or “bite the bullet” financially could ultimately sink the whole boat.

8 – HI HO SILVER: On Wednesday evening we were out for supper at Memories with a well-heeled business friend of mine who has multiple Roughriders season tickets in luxury seating. The topic of the CFL didn’t come up once and if it had, it would’ve been because I’d wedged it into the conversation. “Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind” is a thing. Consider these words from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in an interview on ESPN this week, “There’s enormous competition in the media. We have the best product in the world but we need to work to capture people’s attention. There’s endless programming available now.” I’ve only been saying this for YEARS. If you attempt to go dormant for awhile, it’s fatal. It’s not like it used to be.

9 – MLSE: I saw Darren Dupont and Justin Dunk surmising on the RP Show this week that the CFL teams who WANT to play are perhaps trying to apply public pressure on the teams who DON’T want to play (rumoured to be Toronto and Montreal). i.e. shame them. Well one Toronto sports official said to me, “(MLSE Chairman) Larry Tanenbaum won’t be shamed into doing anything he doesn’t want to do.” What a mess.

10 – PHIL: Four straight days of rain has been perfect for sports watching and witnessing 50-year old Phil Mickelson capture the PGA Championship in South Carolina on Sunday. It was inspirational for us ’70s kids. But what struck us more than him making history was the rabid crowd of thousands which engulfed the 18th hole. “They’ve lost control of the crowd,” announcer Jim Nantz said nervously. Not sure about you, but it got my heart racing and my inner voice said, “We’re back”.

Then I turned on Oilers/Jets and got that sinking feeling of, “No we’re not”. It’s going to be a long summer of sorting this out and people who continue to be hamstrung by the pandemic are going to slip into an even deeper funk. Misery loves company and for the past 15 months we could at least look to America and say they’re dealing with the same thing. Not anymore. Canada’s way behind.

11 – #LETTHEMPLAY: A lot of business owner friends of mine and sports people feel that the government’s going to have no choice but to relent this summer and drop restrictions – no matter how the vaccine rollouts continue – because of what’s happening in the United States. They also plan to orchestrate public pressure on government and health officials. To that I say, “good luck”. If you speak out against government, you get cancelled and I still don’t see anyone interested in going out on that limb.

12 – MYLES STOESZ: Former Regina Pats forward Myles Stoesz (2006-07, pronounced “Stayz”) is one of four former Canadian Hockey League players who provided sworn affidavits connected to a possible class-action lawsuit filed against the WHL, Canadian Hockey League, and Hockey Canada in 2019. The affidavits were filed May 7. Myles said he was forced to fight as a teen in the WHL and is now suffering the physical effects in his 30’s. I’ve got time to listen to Stayzie because he’s a good guy, and not a wingnut like Daniel Carcillo. I recall Myles getting a $25,000 signing bonus from the Atlanta Thrashers and buying a $30,0000 Mustang. (We had a little chat about economics that day). My initial thought on this is that life is about choices and Myles made his. He wasn’t signing an NHL contract to be a 50-goal scorer. However it bothers me that he’s having these symptoms later in life. It will be interesting to see how it turns out, and how the judge views both sides of the case.

13 – RECOVERY COACH ACADEMY: I really appreciate all the people who inquired about the Recovery Coach Academy I attended this week from the Connecticut Center of Addiction Recovery (CCAR) in Hartford, CT. To explain, it’s the gold standard of certification for Recovery Coaching which is one of the fastest growing fields in North America. As advertised, it was a rigorous, intensive 30-hour course and I won’t get into the details, but suffice it to say that not everyone completed the boot camp. I did, however it took me a few days to get composed and recharged so that’s why there wasn’t a ton of content on this website over the weekend. I’d been working as a Recovery Coach for the past four years but I didn’t have North America-wide certification. Now I do. Thanks for asking!

14 – VIVA LAS VEGAS: It’s been over a week since the Vegas Golden Knights ownership group was awarded an expansion franchise in the Indoor Football League to begin play in 2022. My inbox was flooded from CFL people asking me to put in a good word for them with my Golden Knights friends and it got me to thinking – why don’t I apply for the play-by-play position? So I did. The future of the RP Show is in America and if we can combine that with a gig in Sin City and pro football, why not!

15 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Health is wealth. … When the play-by-play guy says in overtime, “The next goal is a big one.” Uh dude, it’s the only one. … When people say they’re taking a Twitter break, and then return before you realize they were gone. … SJHL News: Head Coach/GM Brayden Klimosko has signed a 3-year deal with the defending champion Battlefords North Stars. … Klimosko’s top assistant Rob Holoein has stepped down to take over the PJHL’s Carrot River Thunder franchise. Those two are some of the finest guys I know. … The NBA has taken to inducting fans into the Hall of Fame and the first is Raptors super fan Nav Bahtia. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith isn’t a fan of the idea. Me, I don’t have a problem with it. It gives fans something to strive for and fans are the lifeblood of sports. Without them, we can’t survive. … Craig Bonner has been named head pro scout for the Dallas Stars. The 48-year old product has been with the Stars for six years after being GM of the Kamloops Blazers for nine years. … Still can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed MC’ing that Black Tie NHL Hockey Draft in Swift Current this week. Good people. … The Moncton Mustangs are 3-0 in Maritimes Football League play. In this weekend’s game Moncton won 26-0 (D-lineman Darin Burns didn’t tell me who they played) but he registered two sacks, two pressures and a tackle in less than a half of work. … Enjoy the rest of your weekend and enjoy the hockey!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

(Photo: Paul Edmonds)