Spitballin鈥� (or Super Pass It To Bulis: All In, if you love adventurous acronymizing) is a feature that allows us to touch on a multitude of things really fast, because in the world of hockey, there are always lots of things to find and colour. Here are a few quick topics.
Another decade of Sedinery?
Old people retire. It's kinda their thing. It's why many seem to think the Sedins will call it a career when their current contracts expire. Daniel and Henrik just turned 35 years old in September, which is basically hockey's version of turning 65. They are officially old.
But if you think they're done, here's a second opinion, courtesy Elliotte Friedman. :
24. One coach watches Jaromir Jagr and sees the future of the Sedins.
鈥淚f the players around them take care of the speed, they can take advantage of their skills and smarts for years,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it works in Florida. They get Jagr the puck in the offensive zone and he does the rest.鈥�
The twins are 35 and have two more years left on their contracts. They鈥檙e in good enough shape to play longer than that if they wish to.聽
Jaromir Jagr just turned 44 years old, and he's indicated that he'll be returning next season. And then maybe for 15 more. Jagr recently said he hopes to keep playing until he's 60. 鈥淚t may be after that, but I don鈥檛 know,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure yet.鈥�
It seems highly unlikely that we'll see another player hit the mid-point of his forties during an NHL game. Mike Babcock called Jagr a genetic freak. But you know who else happens to be genetic freaks? Henrik and Daniel Sedin. 聽
Jagr will turn 45 next February, making him a full ten years older than the Sedins are now. Most people are talking about two or three more years of the twins. How about another decade?
Keep angry Willie
Willie Desjardins has never missed the playoffs in his twelve years as a coach. And now he's about to.
He's been in denial about it. A few days back, with the Canucks on the verge of an actual winning streak, he talked about the postseason like it was still within reach. But then 麻豆传媒映画dropped two straight, and now, one gets the sense that Willie knows his streak has been killed by Vancouver's inability to put one of their together.
As Jason Botchford noted (in his inimitable ten-words-per-paragraph style, edited here for quotability), Willie's been hot since Monday. :
On Monday, Willie called out Virtanen鈥檚 focus and said he confronted McCann about some issues in the second intermission. On Tuesday, the entire team was sent a message, whether you want to call it a bag skate or not, forced to do laps at the end of practice. And tonight, that positive reinforcement we all got used to from the coach last season was kept to the barest of minimums.
[...]聽He suggested Horvat is ill-suited for an offensive role.
[...] This is pretty much Willie unhinged in a post-game media session, or as close to it as you are ever going to get.
Willie seems upset. And of course he is. He's in uncharted territory here. He might miss the playoffs for the first time in a dozen seasons, which is probably hard enough, but what's more, he has to worry about getting fired over it. It took a decade of winning hockey to make the NHL, and now he's gonna get booted because he couldn't guide this team into the postseason. That's almost as unfair as聽suggesting Horvat is ill-suited for an offensive role on a night when he had 11 shot attempts.
Which is why I hope the Canucks keep him. Imagine how motivated he's going to be next season if he's invited to return. Madder than ever, too. Downright sinister, maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts twirling his moustache. The Canucks should keep angry Willie.聽
The return of Kellan Lain
Hey, remember Kellan Lain? The Canucks signed the big centre out of the NCAA back in 2013. He played nine game for the franchise before being traded to Edmonton for Will Acton in 2014, at which point he ceased to exist. But now he's back, as the Utica Comets announced Thursday that the 6'6" pivot had signed a professional tryout contract.
It's hardly a big deal. He's technically not even a Canuck. But he's in the family again, and it'll be interesting to see if he can do enough to earn another contract. It'll also be interesting to see if the most notable aspect of his pro career changes the way people see him. :
The 6鈥�6鈥�, 222-pound center played in nine games for the 麻豆传媒映画Canucks during the 2013-14 season, and scored once. Two seconds into his NHL debut on Jan. 18, 2014, Lain set an NHL record for the fastest fight and fastest game misconduct to start a career during a brawl off the opening faceoff, surpassing the previous record of 12 seconds set by John Ferguson of the Montreal Canadiens.
You probably remember the infamous John Tortorella hallway game. Lain had no interest in fighting anybody that night. That's not really his game. But he was on the ice when a line brawl broke out, and it was his first game. He practically had no choice.
But as time passes and that context fades, Lain is just a very large man in the AHL who happens to hold the NHL record for quickest fight and ejection, the type of guy players fight to prove how tough they are. I'll bet those two seconds changed his life completely. I'll bet he gets challenged more now than ever.
Back in the conversation
Can I just say how refreshing it was to see Bob McKenzie mention 麻豆传媒映画alongside Chicago, Los Angeles and New York? Reminded me of a simpler time, when the Canucks were a contender.
Unfortunately, he was talking about the city, not the team.
Really tough to beat CHI and/or VAN but so many good ones: LA, NY, MTL, NSH, anywhere warm in winter:
鈥� Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie)
Which raises the question: would you rather have Edmonton's current climate, or hockey team?
