As far as hockey news goes, there’s been very little since last week, to be honest.
Today on Oilers Now!, Brian Lawton speculated that if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins re-signs long-term with the Oilers that it could be in the $6M-$6.995M range. He also mentioned that he doesn’t think that big-name free agents like Taylor Hall and Alex Pietrangelo will get mega paydays given the uncertainty of the league’s financial situation.
Of course, Bob Stauffer (host) threw in his own speculation that maybe Taylor Hall would sign a 1-year deal for little money with a team to “get his numbers up”.
My take? Look, if you can get both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins AND Taylor Hall under contract for even a year and under $8M, you deserve a statue in the city of Edmonton.
Stauffer also had head coach Dave Tippett on the show and was trying to get him to bite on a Tyler Benson “surprising everyone out of camp” scenario. Meaning if someone doesn’t come to the mini-camp in shape or fails to make the cut, if you will. Could a guy like Benson “shock everyone” and make the club? Tippett said, yes.
That’s all lip service though. Tippett knows where Benson stands with him and he’s also a veteran coach who knows better than to throw a rookie into the lion’s den when things matter most. In my opinion, Benson doesn’t have a shot at making the team right out of mini-camp. He’d have to hope that Tyler Ennis, Andreas Athanasiou, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Joakim Nygard, and James Neal have really bad showings or they go down with an injury because that’s the only way he’s getting in I feel.
Staying with current events, I’m glad to be a supporter of the Edmonton Oilers in days like these. They have supported so many different players of different backgrounds from the very first days of their existence in the NHL. Players like, Grant Fuhr, Peter Ing, Fred Brathwaite, Joaquin Gage, Pokey Reddick, Darnell Nurse, Mark Fraser, Theo Peckham, Mike Grier, Kailer Yamamoto, Jujhar Khaira, Ethan Bear, Georges Laraque, Joey Moss, Anson Carter, Leon Draisaitl, Jaroslav Pouzar, Jari Kurri, Shawn Belle, Sean Brown, Caleb Jones, and Anatoli Semenov just to name a few. I’m probably leaving so many out but those are the gentleman off the top of my head.
Now some of you will say “BUT… Brandon Manning!” And yes, he made a big mistake with his choice of words last year but actions are a far greater tender of judgment than words and the organization has chosen to work with an amazingly diverse group of players and personnel over the years.
Puck Racism
First off, I’m very receptive to criticism and correction. If I say anything in the following segment that seems off or unacceptable, feel free to contact me on Twitter (@beerleagueheroe) or Instagram (@beerleagueheroes). Expressing one’s feelings on this topic is not an easy thing to do and I’d like to be sure I’m doing it in a respectful manner.
Secondly, what’s happening in the United States right now is a travesty and a truly avoidable one at that. This is where we are as a collective though and that’s a shame. I feel like every month there’s a George Floyd who is needlessly murdered at the hands of an overzealous enforcement agent who we’re supposed to trust to serve and protect us. What’s happened to these victims (over the decades) should’ve never happened but they did because there’s a complete systematic illness that has infected every atom of our global society.
The balance has been tipped for far too long.
I think there’ll always be racism in some way, shape, or form. It’s not something that will ever be completely erased from human existence. There’s always going to be a fragile ego with an agenda. With that in mind, I think it’s something we can all work on. We can choose not to accept this sort of behaviour and to call it out. We can choose to praise those that show actions of equality and acceptance. We can choose to do the right thing.
For the game of hockey to cancel racism and other forms of discrimination, different people of race, creed, religious background, sexual orientation, etc need to be in visual positions of oversight. Be that as coaches, managers, heads of organizations, etc. Folks have to stop seeing difference as “novel” or “interesting” and start seeing it as normal. Diversity is a good thing!
As harsh as it may be to say, things are so much better now than even 20 years ago. That’s a plus but it’s difficult to see that when “leaders” of state decide that endangering the lives of their populace is more important than finding a way to let them know their lives matter.
I wanted to do my part (somehow), so I put together this shirt design. I feel that hockey truly is for everyone and by wearing this shirt or getting this design on a mask or sticker, we can all show our support for a truly worthy cause.
I’ve decided that portions of the proceeds from this design will go to Hockey is Diversity. This is a German group whose aim is to draw attention to the ethnic diversity in society, which goes beyond the sporting borders in order to sensitize people interculturally. The diversity that has long been regarded as an enrichment in sport as a melting pot of people of different ethnicities, cultures, and religions should also be transferred to society.
BLH Interview Series Vol.4: Joaquin Gage
The time couldn’t be more… Timely as former Edmonton Oilers and Canadian National Team goalie Joaquin Gage (@JoaquinGage31) took the time out of his busy schedule with Freedom 55 Financial to answer a few questions for us.
First, watch Gage tune in some Swede for sticking his blade where the sun don’t’ shine…
Who was your favorite player growing up?
Grant Fuhr
Which team was your favorite?
The Vancouver Canucks
What is your favorite memory from your playing career?
Too man great memories but playing in the NHL and playing for the Canadian national team was pretty special.
Who is the best player you ever played with
Paul Kariya
If you could have any five skaters playing in front of you, who would they be?
Gretzky, Lemieux, McDavid, Lidstrom, Pronger. (I wouldn’t see any shots)
Who are your top-5 goalies of all-time?
Fuhr, Hasek, Cujo, Brodeur, Roy
What was it like playing in the British and Italian professional leagues?
Playing in Europe you had to pinch yourself every day. Amazing experience and something I will never forget.
The NHL is always trying to improve the entertainment value of the game (aka more scoring), coming from a netminder’s point-of-view, how could the NHL make the game more exciting?
I don’t think you should change much with the game. I would like to see it a little more physical but it’s a skill game now.
What was the best piece of career advice given to you?
Only worry about what you can control.
What advice would you give to a young aspiring puck stopper who wants to play in the NHL today?
Don’t stop working towards your goal. It’s a very bumpy road for most goalies to play in the NHL. But no feeling like it when you get to the mountaintop.
A man of few words but extremely wise ones. A big thanks to Joaquin for helping us out! Head on over to his Facebook page and give him a shout! He’s a financial security advisor now, so if you’ve got some concerns about your funds, send them his way!
