As a follow-up to my last post, I continue with hockey.
On Friday, the lockout officially ended, as the board of governors ratified the new collective bargaining agreement. Immediately following this, a lottery was held to decide the order of the entry draft that will be held at the end of the month. Unlike all other draft lotteries before this, all thirty teams had an opportunity to win the first overall pick, with the worst overall teams having a slightly better chance. In the end, my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, won the lottery. With what is at stake being the right to Sidney Crosby, THANK GOD THEY WON! My favorite team, a team that won the Stanley Cup less than fifteen years ago, has been one of the worst teams in the league over the last couple of seasons, with problems ranging from lack of money, to changing of ownership, to not having an adequate stadium (along with the city not willing to fund another one), this team looked on the verge of a full meltdown. However, all has changed…
In 1984, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected with the first overall pick a man named Mario Lemieux. If you ask anyone about him who knows hockey, most will consider him one of the greatest players ever to play. Twenty-one years later, Lemieux is still one of the best (after all, that is what le mieux means in French), still playing at the age of thirty-nine, despite injury problems, with the only reason being that he also happens to own the Penguins. Several years back, the Penguins owner Roger Marino went bankrupt, so he sold the team to Mario, the player he owed the most to. Even now Mario plays, which, along with
But Mario is old. The team needs new blood. And what most forget is that there was a draft before the lockout. And in this draft, the Penguins selected second, Evgeni Malkin from
A team that once had no chance now has a bright new future. The team with nothing now has three extremely talented stars (Crosby, Lemieux, and Malkin). This team which has been one of the worst in the league now appears to be around the top.
To touch on another topic within the NHL, the suggestion was made in the last blog that perhaps the NHL should get rid of some teams. I, for one, have already thought of this and consider it a great idea. If a few teams were contracted, the players would be paid more, more revenue would be shared across fewer teams, and would allow for more internal competition amongst players to make a roster, as fewer roster spots would be available. Of course then the problem is deciding what teams to get rid of, a problem I have discovered is bigger than me to conquer tonight. Any suggestions of who to vote off the hockey island, leave it in a comment.
The season will start in about two months, don’t miss it. Till the next puck drops, that’s it for me…
- posted by Andy
