Thursday Commentary: Flock Off

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It’s hard to tell what’s more exciting in the NHL right now; the action on the ice, or off.

I was 0/2 in Wednesday night’s picks as Buffalo dominated Montreal 4-2 in Game 1 while Anaheim upset the Golden Knights 3-1 in Vegas to tie up that second round series 1-1.

Games have been unpredictable all season, and that’s continued welllllll into the playoffs. Makes it fun!

Off the ice, the drama in Toronto around the hiring of John Chayka as GM – and the subsequent tail-chasing – has been popcorn-worthy stuff. 

The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons continues to gash the hiring with a machete while the “Leaf apologists” in the media are doing their best damage control.

Who needs soap operas or Netflix when the Leafs are around?

To me, a much more serious situation is going on in Tampa Bay where Lightning captain Victor Hedman revealed this week that he missed the end of the regular season and playoffs as he dealt with a Mental Health issue.

Hedman very bravely stood at the podium and fielded questions on the matter, without getting into too many specifics, but he’s been subject to the predictable criticism from “fans”. Let’s just call them “idiots”.

Frankly I’d have advised him NOT to go public with his struggles but it’s a free country. Sometimes getting that stuff off your chest in public creates the biggest freedom over. That story’s not over yet.

And after watching Anaheim rollover the Knights last night, I thought surely Ducks coach Joel Quenneville is a finalist for the NHL Coach of the Year Award so I looked it up again.

But he’s not. And then it dawned on me.

Oh ya — I forgot.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.

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