John is angry

As we’ve hit the final day of the regular season, it’s time to look back and think about surprise teams, great plays and big news from around the league.  As our boys in blue look ahead to opening up the playoffs against Philly Thursday night, several teams around the league are getting their golf equipment ready and leaving hockey for the summer.  Of those teams are nearly all of the Canadian teams (except for Montreal) and a bevy of shocked fanbases. Ahead is a season reflective musings for this sunny Sunday on the East Coast.

Worst Display by a Fanbase: The Edmonton Oilers had an absolutely abysmal season, finishing with just 67 points after acquiring a new head coach (Dallas Eakins) and a new captain (Andrew Ference) in the offseason.  In an effort to show their displeasure with the team, a fan decided to throw their sweater on the ice. Twice. Goalie Ben Scrivens voiced how disrespectful that is, which it is, as it shows a lack of appreciation for all of those years that the teams before the 2014 squad had won. Scary thought: the Oilers wouldn’t even be the worst team if they played in the East. Scarier thought: when their talent clicks and they start to do well. I wish I was tech-savvy and could embed the video, instead, watch it here.

Most Entertaining Meltdown: John Tortorella is typically known for being a level headed, emotionless and calm… wait, sorry, maybe I’m thinking of anybody else. After Calgary head coach Bob Hartley started his fourth line to open the Saturday night game against the Canucks, and 170 penalty minutes were handed out in the first period, our beloved Torts decided that jawing with the opposing bench wasn’t a good enough way to show his disapproval. John took the liberty of walking to the opposing locker room in between periods to try to… um… well frankly I’m not sure what he wanted to do. Maybe he wanted to fight the entire Calgary locker room. In any case, it made for perfect Saturday night entertainment and is a talking point in why many believe Tortorella will face another unemployed summer. Enjoy the video here.

Biggest Show of Arrogance: You’re not going to find Artie sniping for a post goal celebration here. This topic is too serious for a silly childlike celebration that got blown out of proportion. Ryan Malone captured gold in this musings by being caught on Friday night driving drunk and in possession of 1.3 grams of cocaine. This leads to so many questions, said perfectly here – if you can afford a large quantity of drugs, you sure as heck could afford a cab home. It opens discussion about the arrogance that comes with fame and money, and how much we should allow these guys to be role models. The defense is that he is going through a hard time in his personal life, which is sad, but it never justifies terrible behavior. A healthy scratch in Tampa’s previous 3 games, and now not traveling with the team, is this the last we’ve seen of Malone? Let’s hope so: anybody who favorites a tweet about his own night of public debauchery and putting the public in danger should be nowhere near kids who idolize professional athletes.

Will he or Won’t he? The Brett Favre of the NHL is…: Martin Brodeur. Obviously. I think he signs elsewhere this off season, plays a few games, throws a temper tantrum and retires before we see the first day of 2015.

Playoff Predictions: With the recent skid by the St. Louis Blues, I say the Cup Finals will show the Boston Bruins beating the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games. As for my Rangers… I think they’ve got a bit of fire back in them right now, but not enough to take down the Bruins, and they exit in the Eastern Conference finals in 5 games.

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