As well as being unable to convert McDavid into a Stanley Cup hero, the NHL has also taken Olympic hero off the table
Before we get into who’s still around, let’s pour one out for friends who are no longer with us.
The spirit of the current Penguins was captured in their final regular-season game, against Columbus. The Blue Jackets needed to lose to buy themselves a winning ticket to the Connor Bedard lottery. No team in any sport has ever wanted to lose more. And Pittsburgh would not allow it. Columbus won in overtime. The Blue Jackets were openly despondent about it afterward.
The NHL is a bit like high school English – if a teacher decides you’re an A student, you get A’s no matter what you hand in. Same thing with D’s. In some senses, we’re still living in the NHL of a few years ago, when the league was run by the cool kids of the 2004/05 drafts.What would make the most sense is Connor McDavid finally graduating from award winner to actual winner.
That is the rolling business disaster the NHL is perpetrating with McDavid. Its mistake is doubly unforgivable because as well as being unable to convert him into a Stanley Cup hero, it has also taken Olympic hero off the table. If the league wants to expand from its base, the time to do that is May and June. When the casual fan tunes in on a whim, she wants to see the players she’s heard some hype about. What does she see? A bunch of grinders from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This problem isn’t likely to get much better in the next couple of months. Who’s going to win it all? The Bruins, probably.But who’s fresh and new on Boston? The Bruins are a bunch of old guys bullying the kids. Their stars are quiet professionals who take persona tips from Patrice Bergeron. I’m sure it makes for a rewarding work environment, but it doesn’t do much in off-ice entertainment terms.
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