THN.com Blog: Goodbye, Dom; Hello, Ron
Dominik Hasek of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates with the Stanley Cup in the dressing room after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup final. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Adam Proteau
2008-06-09 13:13:12
So long, Dominik Hasek. Your unorthodox goaltending style – and even more unorthodox voice – shall be missed.
And whatever you do in retirement, for the love of Pete, stay away from inline hockey games.
• Welcome to Toronto, new Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson.
I’ve heard mixed reviews about your work (the negative being that some of the younger Sharks weren’t overly enamored of you last season), but after I learned about your belief in the harm overt Canadian nationalism does to the NHL and hockey, I was charmed to say the least.
You’ll probably want to read this to see not every Canuck reporter disagrees with you.
But unfortunately, you’re probably only going to have that belief more deeply engrained in you after working in this city for the next 29 dog years.
And believe me, your new team may resemble dogs more often than not for the foreseeable future.
• I’ve disagreed with the U.S. Supreme Court on a number of its recent decisions – one in particular – but couldn’t have agreed with it more on its choice to side with fantasy baseball leagues in their battle against Major League Baseball and its Players’ Association.
The court’s verdict – basically stipulating that baseball and those who play it professionally are not owed compensation for the use of their names and statistics – is not only fantastic news for baseball fans, but also a nice little shot across the bow of all sports leagues and player unions who wish to soak their customers bone-dry by any means necessary.
The NHL would be wise to embrace the court’s decision and find ways to connect with their fan base free of charge in areas like this. And though I’m sure there are lots of capitalists out there just aching to enlighten me about god-given rights to profit and as much excess as a market will bear, there’s also something to be said for knowing where to pick your sales spots.
• Finally, best wishes to blogger Paul Kukla in regards to health issues currently keeping him away from the computer keyboard. Hopefully a nice little summer break will be just what the doctor ordered.
Adam Proteau is The Hockey News' online columnist and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears Mondays and Wednesdays, his Ask Adam feature appears Fridays, and his column, Screen Shots, appears Thursdays.
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Troy Martinson (Posted 2008-06-10 14:03:26)
I guess there's not much chance of Marleau heading to TO nor TSN being "typically negative." Can't wait to see how Wilson responds toquestions by media (TSN) after consecutive 7-1 drubbings.
Steve (Posted 2008-06-09 17:38:42)
Great, now Adam's not only pretending he's a civic theorist on a foreign nation with a structure he doesn't understand and a population he stereotypes, but he's also decided to fashion himself an amateur law professor. Adam, I've said it before, if you aren't interested in hockey, then quit, because there's surely someone toiling away as a copy editor at some obscure paper in Manitoba who would love to have the job that clearly bores you so much.
whatsthatsmell (Posted 2008-06-09 16:08:05)
That whole MLB case was a joke. These athletes play in public for the public. Therefore, their stats by default are public. We already pay to watch them, now they want us to pay for the stats too? Come on. We do a better job anyway. You will never see an NHL stat of leader in players who take shots from two feet under the blue line that have no chance of going in (Jason Blake).
C. Lazek (Posted 2008-06-09 16:01:08)
What's wrong with being Nationalistic? Canadians often seemed ashamed of who they are; and it is clear they are the true hockey nation. Obviously this writer is ashamed of his country being the leader in a sport loved by many nations. Trust me it's OK to have an identity. And as for Wilson it's funny to think the American champion of the sport and self admitted detester of all things Canadian is now headed for Toronto. I guess the strong Canadian dollar and big contract can make him like Canada just a little bit - but don't expect success with Wilson Leaf fans!
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