![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
So...it looks as if we've another NHL lockout in progress and the next season is going to go the way a largish chunk of 2004-'05 did.
I've got two thoughts about that.
First, the CBC's response via Hockey Night in Canada? Divert all coverage to all the other hockey leagues in Canada. Or as close to "all" as logistically possible. AHL, LHNA, Canadian Women's Hockey League, the Canadian major-junior leagues...you get the idea. We've got enough going on from coast to coast to coast right now that Hockey Night can manage well without the NHL and NHLPA. And we, the hockey-fannish public can use the additional education on what else is out there.
Second, I've heard stories about the two guys currently responsible for the Stanley Cup and their opinion on awarding the Cup to a worthy team outside of the NHL structure: that Brian O'Neill in particular openly stated that to do so would be to "demean" the trophy.
Hogwash.
I know that the Stanley Cup predates the NHL. It was originally created as a "challenge" cup, for amateur teams to compete for. Whoever had it, they had to accept challenges for amateur hockey supremacy within Canada from whatever teams met the standards of the day on an annual basis. I've visited one of the institutions that won the Cup in the pre-NHL days: the Montréal Amateur Athletic Association. I saw the banners they used to hang in the front lobby in the days before they rebranded themselves and put said banners into long-term storage.
Anyway.
I agree with the Toronto Star editorial stance on this matter. Return to the pre-NHL tradition of the Stanley Cup, if only for one season. Award the Cup to a worthy non-NHL team for once. The League and Players' Association like can use the reminder of this particular history lesson.
Anyone else?
I've got two thoughts about that.
First, the CBC's response via Hockey Night in Canada? Divert all coverage to all the other hockey leagues in Canada. Or as close to "all" as logistically possible. AHL, LHNA, Canadian Women's Hockey League, the Canadian major-junior leagues...you get the idea. We've got enough going on from coast to coast to coast right now that Hockey Night can manage well without the NHL and NHLPA. And we, the hockey-fannish public can use the additional education on what else is out there.
Second, I've heard stories about the two guys currently responsible for the Stanley Cup and their opinion on awarding the Cup to a worthy team outside of the NHL structure: that Brian O'Neill in particular openly stated that to do so would be to "demean" the trophy.
Hogwash.
I know that the Stanley Cup predates the NHL. It was originally created as a "challenge" cup, for amateur teams to compete for. Whoever had it, they had to accept challenges for amateur hockey supremacy within Canada from whatever teams met the standards of the day on an annual basis. I've visited one of the institutions that won the Cup in the pre-NHL days: the Montréal Amateur Athletic Association. I saw the banners they used to hang in the front lobby in the days before they rebranded themselves and put said banners into long-term storage.
Anyway.
I agree with the Toronto Star editorial stance on this matter. Return to the pre-NHL tradition of the Stanley Cup, if only for one season. Award the Cup to a worthy non-NHL team for once. The League and Players' Association like can use the reminder of this particular history lesson.
Anyone else?
