Among offseason tragedies, positives abound in NHL
They say negativity is contagious. This past offseason, the NHL caught the bug.
If one stretches past the summer and into the 2010-11 season, it has been a heartbreaking year for the greatest game on ice. Suspensions were frequent and head shots were rampant. Most infamously, the professional hockey community sustained nearly 50 deaths over a mere few months.
It begs the question: Where have the positives gone?
With utmost respect to the aforementioned tragedies, it’s unfortunate how easy it is to lose sight of the positive things that have happened to the sport lately and, perhaps more importantly, are continuing to happen.
The 2010-2011 season saw the NHL team up with HBO to produce a 24/7 documentary following both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals as a dramatic lead-up to the Winter Classic. The result was an increase of 22 percent viewership from the previous Winter Classic. It was the most watched NHL contest in the United States since 1996, and the most watched regular season NHL game since 1975.
With 24/7 providing such great intrigue to fans the first time around, the 2011-12 edition is primed to offer must-watch television. It is set to feature the Phildaelphia Flyers, after a colossal offseason, and the New York Rangers, who employ the NHL’s most quotable coach, John Tortorella.
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The Winter Classic, it seems, is an all-year affair – something in which fans are pleased to partake.
Last season also marked another significant tweak to a prized event, as the league put on one of their best All-Star Weekends to date. They introduced a fantasy draft, which was a welcome edition to an event fast growing stale. Beyond the draft ceremony, Zdeno Chara brought the heat and broke his own record for hardest shot with a 105.9 mph bomb while Jeff Skinner became the youngest ever player to play in this event.
The best part? Carolina as a city also proved their worth as a true hockey city, as the fans were loud, rambunctious and tied the event together greatly.
In 2010-11, the NHL also saw the return of the hockey trade. For the first time in a number of years, the hockey world saw meaty trades consummated for the purpose of bettering a squad immediately.
We saw trades like Erik Johnson and Jay McClement for Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk, as well as James Neal and Matt Niskanen for Alex Goligoski. Trades with substance, for once.
Of course, beyond the regular season spectacles is the event that matters most to everyone: the Stanley Cup playoffs. And what a playoff it was in 2010-11.
Feel-good moments included Bobby Ryan scoring one of the greatest playoff goals of all-time and the Nashville Predators finally winning a playoff series.
Fans also witnessed some of the highest quality hockey in recent times. The Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks renewed hostilities and continued one of hockey’s most riveting rivalries. One cannot forget the Canadiens and Bruins’ seven-game war. Additionally, as if those two seven-game thrillers weren’t enough, the Detroit Red Wings were not to be outdone, orchestrating a 3-0 come-from-behind series of their own before falling in a seventh game to the San Jose Sharks.
Most exciting of all, though, was perhaps the Bruins and Lightning’s Game 7 masterpiece. In said clash, two grizzly goalies battled through every single save. The final score was 1-0, a true reminder of how great and pure the game can be no matter how many goals are notched. The match was summed up by a heart-warming handshake between two great competitors and friends in Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas.
The Bruins then of course went on to remind everyone what hockey is truly all about. They did so in fine fashion, nabbing the Stanley Cup with a tough, in your face, finish-every-check mentality.
The 2010-11 season was an exhilarating season on a number of levels, and the upcoming one already promises just the same. On top of a great set of characters for the Winter Classic, fans can look forward to the return of the Winnipeg Jets in what will surely be an electric and emotional campaign. Plus, another year of a league-wide fan favorite, Teemu Selanne, will add to the thrill of seeing how all the movement from this summer effects the standings.
Indeed it has been a cruel summer for the hockey world, but don’t let it cloud what’s to come. Just take a look back at last year if you need a reminder as to why we all love this game.
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