The return of the curse of the creature’s ghost

Word on the street is that quite a few NHL teams are planning on introducing the third jersey once again. It’s another shameless bit of commercialism and a quick fix (for cash) that the league does ever so often.

In addition to being shameless in terms of product placement, these third jerseys have almost always been aesthetically unpleasing and loud. I’m not sure the fans really care, but if they do, it’s another demerit on North American hockey fans. Why isn’t there more of an outcry against Gary Bettman and his staff beyond „I hate him because he moved team [x]„, or the fact that Bettman moved the NHL (in the US) from ESPN to the VS network? It seems to me that the average hockey fan is unaware of the league-wide issues, such as the declining talent pool (due to over-expansion and now the declining value of the American dollar vs. the Euro) as well as the rampant cronyism that infests North American hockey. When Terry Murray gets a job again after 8 years of unemployment, John Paddock after 10, or Barry Melrose after 13, and there’s hardly any protesting from the fans, it means there’s a criminal lack of awareness of this issue.

the northwest division theory

Around one month ago, I formulated a theory that each team in the NHL’s Northwest division engaged in a conspiratorial pact whereby only one team at a team would have a hot streak spanning 10-15 games. Early in the season, it was Minnesota, followed by Calgary, then Vancouver, then Edmonton, and last month ending with Colorado. However, it appears that for the second leg of this phenomenon, the order does not follow that of the first leg; it’s now Vancouver’s turn, as evidenced by a recent 7-3-3 record, including one quality win against Detroit.

Even more puzzling than a one-line team that relies heavily on their goalie being a possible contender in the playoffs is the 10 game losing streak of the Philadelphia Flyers. Due to parity, around 20 of the NHL’s 30 teams are roughly equal in skill level, at least in theory. That that team can’t manage to luck into one win (even in overtime) against some hapless gang of grinders and overachieving minor leaguers is downright hilarious.