Hello hockey fans! PUCK YOU! has returned for another season! We’ve added some new features… but more importantly, we’ve stayed true to the idea that this is a commentary about hockey by fans, for the fans. Censorship has no place here. As we are a couple weeks into the regular season of 2011-2012, it’s time to address both the offseason, and the one currently underway. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Our panelists include Bruce McGee, Al Creed, BaptisBlacktick (Maybe next episode?), ThinkSoJoE, G, ThatDamnDoubleC, and Armchair MVP.

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Worst off season ever? Let’s get to the tragedies first, then to more happy topics afterwards…

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Question 1: Beginning in May 13, 2011 with the passing of Derek Boogaard, this NHL off seaon may very well go down as the most tragic in the history of league. This death was followed by the civil unrest and riotting following the Vancouver Canucks loss to the Boston Bruins causing both embarassment to hockey fans world wide, and the city of Vancouver. Rick Rypien would be found dead on August 15th, as a result of suicide, only to be followed to a similar fate by recently retired Wade Belak.

In the cases of Boogaard, Rypien, and Belak, all three were enforcers in the NHL who are believed to have suffered from serious depression as a result of repeated concussions caused by not only the sport itself, but the numerous fights all three players regularly participated in.

Finally, on September 7, a private jet in Russia crashed carrying 43 people. Among the dead, were 27 players, 2 coaches, and seven club officials of the KHL Belarus club Yaroslavl to Minsk. This essentially wiped out an entire team, many of who spent significant time in the NHL as well.

What are you thoughts, comments, or anything in general as a hockey fan you would like to say?

ThatDamnDoubleC What’s with the long questions? I thought this would be a cake-walk. Simple one-word answers, and then you go and pull that kind of question on me. I don’t appreciate that kind of questioning, and I hope that in the rest of the interview doesn’t have such long-winding questions. However, I will answer this question, under the assumption that every question remaining in this interview, is considerably shorter than this one.

Derek Boogaard’s death, was accidental.. tragic, but accidental. Oh, and his brother was an absolute dick. He’s also one of two murderers (as Aaron Boogaard, the brother, was charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance), (and yes I know that Derek was addicted to painkillers, and that his brother was only trying to help him by controlling his drug use).. maybe his brother wasn’t a murderer, as the case was thrown out.. that means that Danny Heatley is still the only murderer playing in the NHL.. (even though Aaron Boogaard plays in the CHL).

Who was next? Rick Rypien and Wade Belak. There is a connection between the two. In fact, there’s a connection between Belak, Rypien and D Boogaard. They were all team-mates, at one stage or another, with Garth Murray. Murray played with Boogaard at the Regina Pats, with Rypien at the Pats and also the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, and with Belak at the Florida Panthers. Am I saying that Garth Murray should be sat down and questioned? Am I saying that the fighting history of the three whom have passed are to blame? If fighting is indeed to blame.. then how long does Matt Cooke have to go? Half of the Dallas Stars lineup are in trouble also.

The Vancouver Canucks suck anyway. I don’t care if they have twin Sedin’s and Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows, and Roberto Luongo. Americans already hate Luongo because of the Olympics, and the only reason Vancouver fans rioted, was because nobody would care about Vancouver is they didn’t.. I mean, it’s not like the Grizzlies are going to come back and save the day..

This last one, was bizarre. The plane barely got off the ground, it wouldn’t take off from my understanding. Perhaps it was a miscommunication between crew. Either way, this was shocking to even see the pictures of. I know I’m suddenly taking this one seriously, but this was big. What do you want me to say? I didn’t like Karlis Skrastins, even though he last played for the Stars? I wonder who Maxim Zyuzyakin feels..

Bruce McGee: I was saddened by the death’s of Boogaard, Rypien, and Belak in the past year. While I think that concussions may of played a part of it, there are so many factors that could of caused the problems all three men faced. Until we do more research on how the brain functions and what if any connections there were between the three I will with hold any speculation on what caused them to suffer so much. The lose of an entire KHL team was a blow to my system. The loss of three individuals was horrible enough, but to see an entire club die in a plane crash was really beyond words. I feel nothing but sorrow for all the loved ones involved in any of these tragic death’s and I would like to close question with this thought. Living life to fullest isn’t just some sad cliche. It is the absolute truth, never squander a second of the time you have here. If for no other reason than to honor the ones who were taken from the mortal coil far far to soon.

G:
As much as I don’t want to go off on too much of a tangent, I see a lot of the mentioned tragedies a result of some form of stupidity. The loss of the three enforcers due to depression, a result of head trauma, is forgivable in hindsight. But as we progress with the sport, it would be stupid to ignore the reprecussions of repeated blows to the head when players fight. While I can’t see fighting being removed over night, it’s time to crack down on it. Players can’t be left to their own design to take liberties with players on other teams without fear of consequences, and that was the role the enforcer served.
Planes crash, and sometimes there is an entire team on it. That is going to happen, and it sucks. My condolences go out to all the player’s family and friends, because they were merely victims of circumstance. Stupidity comes into play with the KHL and the choice of airlines. Much information has come out about falter mechanics and expired jet fuel. The KHL may have not been at liberty for this information prior the crash, but all sports leagues should take note of corner cutting when entering into long term transportation contracts. Most leagues have excesses of millions, if not billions, that can be utilized.
Finally… the stupidity of the riots stems from two groups. The first are the idiots who decided to use the game as an excuse towards anarchy. And I think that group was going to do riot regardless of the outcome of that game. A bunch of these fools did the same things on a minor level during the Olympics. The majority of those involved were likely swept up in mob mentality, fueled by alcohol and the letdown of the Canucks losing. As much hate that the Vancouver club receives around the league, I feel bad for legit fans and non-hockey residents of the city.

Armchair MVP: As far as this offseason goes, wow. That’s all I can think of to say. My heart goes out to everyone’s families, it’s so weird to see, with the Russian plane crash in particular, a bunch of guys I grew up watching and idolizing gone in one swoop. I will remember Wade Belak for his tenure as a Flame, and for his sense of humour off the ice. I’m paraphrasing, but he once said something to the effect of “you know when I score, my team’s going to win, because the other guys had a bad game.” Pavol Demitra was a guy who had me in awe of his abilities with a few of the goals he scored for the Blues and Kings in particular. Karlis Skrastins is a guy who I’ll remember for having the longest ironman streak in the NHL at one point, I admired his commitment and durability. As I was reading about the tragedies, what jumped out at me was some of the stories that commenters had about these men. In particular, one guy was talking about how he and his brothers got to go to the Winnipeg Jets locker room when they were young, and Igor Korolev was the guy who made sure they wouldn’t be nervous about meeting everyone, and that they had an unforgettable experience. Many of these other guys have examples like this for me as well, and it was devastating to see everything happen this summer.

Al Creed: I dunno, dudes. Despite all of that bad stuff happening, and no disrespect to the deceased, I would have to say the 2004 offseason was the worst, all things considered.

ThinkSoJoE: I don’t think we should be blaming hockey or fighting in hockey for the suicides of those three players, however, because despite the fact that there were three similar tragedies in a short period of time, there are far more enforcers out there still living and enjoying life. Fighting in hockey debate aside, these were all great tragedies, and a terrible loss for the entire hockey world.

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There’s a new sheriff in town, and all the wanna-be gangstas are getting shot down…

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Question 2: Brendan Shanahan has begun his first official season as the NHL’s Vice President of Hockey and Business Development and head disciplinarian. he assumed the role during the final portion of the NHL playoffs on June 1st. During the preseason, and into the start of this year’s regular season, Shanahan has begun to crack down on head shots, especially, and implemented a video explanation system to help guide the players and coaches towards a safer game. Do you agree with his outlook and actions thus far?

Armchair MVP: I think that his actions are always going to come into question, because it comes with the territory of the job. No matter who’s calling the shots for suspensions, they will always be a little bit of a lightning rod for criticism. Look no further than Roger Goodell in the NFL. So the outlook is far more important to me, and I like what Shanahan is doing. The videos in particular are a great idea, so we can get a look into his thought process, rather than Colin Campbell’s infamous “Wheel of Justice”, and Roger Goodell’s penchant for seemingly pulling punishments out of a hat at times.

Al Creed: If the NHL is serious about reducing “Head Shots,” then this is the way to go about it. Some may say that they are being too stringent, and that they’re coddling players and whatnot, but I think that Shanny’s doing a good job. The only way you’re going to stop head hunting is by making the consequences harsh enough so that it makes players think twice.

Bruce McGee: I have been very impressed with what Brendan Shanahan has been able to do so far with the job. The video explanation leave little room for doubt why the player is getting suspended. On top of that Brendan is showing that dirty hits will not be tolerated on his watch. I don’t really think they were tolerated on Colin Cambell’s watch either, but the minute those e-mails went public he was done. Making the changed and bringing a new person to the job was the right call for the NHL and I expect Shanahan to do a damn good job. That said you know damn good and well fanboy’s and idiots will try to tear him down as well. It is the nature of the beast.

ThatDamnDoubleC Was Brendan Shanahan a clean player in his days? I know he was a part of that Red Wings side on 97-98 when they owned everything that moved. He was a big piece there too, with Yzerman, Fedorov, Coffey and the like. He also knew it wasn’t a good idea to ride in a limo with Konstantinov. So he does have some sense about him. As for headshots, they’re a part of hockey, just like grabbing someone by the facemask is a part of the NFL and cheating on your wife with porn stars and waitresses is a part of golf. (I hear that’s how Bill Haas won this year’s FedEx Cup). Everybody wants to make everything safer, sooner rather than later, hockey fights will resume matches of ‘Joust’ from American Gladiators, complete with foam sticks. I have a better idea, why not put Sean Avery in charge of headshots? He knows what a bad headshot looks like.

G:
Over the last decade, we’ve entered into a level of awareness of trauma caused by hits to the head. Slowly, but surely, some professional sports have been taking steps to change how the game is played and called. However, to really alter the culture and traditionalists, new blood is needed at the top. Shanahan has provided ample change, and I am really a big fan of his video explanations. Sure, they’re not perfect (and some of his suspensions are questionable). At least he is trying to present a more clear explanation of what is acceptable and what is not. To me, that’s a positive step forward. We’ve got to clean up this game, so I’ll give Shanahan a strong passing grade at this time.

ThinkSoJoE: Anything that can be done to make the game safer for the players is a good thing. So far, so good for Shanahan, IMO.

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There’s even MORE truth to this headline today, than when it was originally published.

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Question 3: Can the NHL use the NBA lockout to their advantage and get more eyes on the product? If you had to suggest one thing in particular the league could do, that they not currently doing to improve those odds, what would it be?

ThatDamnDoubleC Yes, the NHL can take back from the NBA the one thing the NBA stole off them. Fights with the crowd. After Ron Artest decided to take matters into his own hands, what have the NHL done to re-claim something which was once theirs? Nothing. Brendan Shanahan himself can’t argue against bringing him back, as he loved to attack the fans, especially those opposed to the New Jersey Devils. What hockey needs to make things more exciting.. penalty box deathmatch. Rather than players fighting on the ice, let them fight in the box. Tie Domi can be referee, as he knows how to fight fans whilst serving penalties. Who wouldn’t want to see random fan beat the hell out of Sid The Kid or AlexO? Fan interaction is a great key for success anywhere, and a great chance for fan interaction is awaiting the NHL. Better yet, stick Gary Bettman in the penalty box, then tell the fans they have five minutes to get him. Be more exciting than watching the Oilers play.

Bruce McGee: The NHL has done a much better job in the last few years to recover from the lock out than I ever thought they would. The thought of attracting more eyeballs to the sport while the NBA is locked out is a nice one. The problem is, most fans of the NBA will probably just go with the NFL and be happy with that. Most basketball fans are already fans of football, so little will change. That shouldn’t stop the NHL from doing some marketing ploys to work towards gaining some new fan interest. They may snag a few with no basketball around.

G:
This is an interesting question, and would have been even more significant if the NFL had been locked out as well. I realize the US market is no stranger to the existance of the NHL. Many have probably seen it, shrugged, and flipped to whatever other MLB, NFL, or NBA game is on television.
If the NHL wants to truly capitalize on this opportunity, they have to do a few things. First, write off October. American fans are going to be watching football and baseball playoffs. Second, petition hard to get TV time up to the Superbowl on nights where the NFL is not on television, but the NBA would have been. Hardcore sportsfans will have no other alternatives once the NFL season ends. That provides a significant window of opportunity for the NHL to push their product, and more importantly, near the end of the regular season when games mean more.
The problem, however, is that the regular season schedule is locked into place. Television deals have already been established. Concerts and events have been booked in arenas around the continent on off-days. I can’t see it changing at this point… which is a shame.

Armchair MVP: I think it will be difficult to gain a huge advantage from the NBA lockout. In some places, hockey is simply not the draw that it would be in an ideal situation, and I think a lot of basketball season ticket holders will simply save their money rather than look to hockey to fill the void. There’s also still the issue of competition with the NFL, and for the next week or so, Dallas and St. Louis have to compete with World Series baseball. It’s possible, but it won’t be easy.

ThinkSoJoE: I’m the one who originally posed this question, and I thought I knew the answer. I thought that the NHL could use the lack of another major professional sport 5 days out of the week in America to get eyes on the product and get people interested in hockey. I learned over the weekend that I was wrong. While I’d love to think that everything is perfect and the NHL can easily attract the NBA audience, they’re going to fail to do so due to lack of a decent national television deal. Sure, they’ve got NBC and Versus, but Versus only shows two or three games a week and the NBC deal doesn’t usually kick in until the Winter Classic in January. How is the NHL supposed to get eyes on the product when you can only really see games in regional markets? I managed to watch a lot of hockey this weekend, but only thanks to a free trial of NHL Center Ice. And as much as I love the NHL, I’m not going to spend an extra $150 or so for the package when I get all of my home team’s games on TV already.

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Hey, if we didn’t discuss video games on Wonderpodonline.com, they’d probably take our gamer card away.

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Part 2 will be available here as of Monday, October 24th, 2011 at 5:00 AM PST here.

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Hockey fans! We want to hear from you. The point of this panel is to allow fans to chime in, not the professionals. You pay their salaries, so tell them what YOU think below in the comments section.

Here at Wonderpod Online, we encourage discussion and celebrate debate. The internet can be stifling for some, but we prefer to open our doors to authors and writers from elsewhere to come on board in our panels and discuss passions that might not be represented at their other homes. With that being said, we hope hockey fans are enjoying the regular season up to this point in time.

Have an idea for a topic you’d like us to tackle? Sign up and post it below.

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Shameless Plugs!

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Some of our panelists write elsewhere on the internet, and we’d like you to check out some of their websites!

Bored Wrestling Fan
A break down of various professional wrestling programs and events from the eyes of the smarky fan

The Cultural Revolution (TCR Comix)
Al Creed’s comics dominate tongue and cheek humour here

Wonderpod
A weekly podcast about the world of video games, from player experiences to current events in the industry, Bruce McGee, Pat Man, and Gun Sage provide insight into the medium for any gamer (whether casual or “pro”).