This week, it’s a little game of questions in search of answers.
Let’s get it rolling.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE ‘BATTLE OF ONTARIO?’
Seriously, where have you been?
When Ottawa and its Senators travel to Toronto to face its Maple Leafs tonight, there just doesn’t appear to be any Darcy Tucker-jumping-the-bench aura to this whole thing.
So then, where has one of the best rivalries – one rich with enmity, rancor and venom – poofed away to?
When you think of game-changing rivalries, the Ottawa-Toronto one (from the 1990s and well into the 2000s) ranks up there with Quebec-Montreal of the 1980s and Calgary-Edmonton of the 1980s and 1990s. In other words, there was always something happening away from the play; a sneaky slew foot or an all-out war. Colton Orr versus Matt Carkner, Tucker versus Everybody, Chris Neil jawing with Shayne Corson.
As the late Bob Cole would say: “Ohhhh baby!!”
The generally placid Leafs of today and the perpetually troubled Senators – kind of out there mumbling, “We have our own problems over here” as another lazy shot eludes their goaltender of the time – don’t seem terribly focused on crushing their provincial opponents, except on the scoreboard.
Maybe it comes back.
Maybe a spry Ridly Greig slapshot into an empty net recharges something over here and there’s a bit of a continuation from last season’s final meeting.
“It was a lot of adrenaline,” Greig said after the Slap Shot Game. “It was the heat of the moment, the heat of the game. It was an emotional game. I just got a breakaway, and I thought I’d bury it.”
And maybe, just maybe, perhaps by the time you read this, the whole Battle of Ontario will have revved up one more time. Check it out: 7 pm tonight, Toronto hosts Ottawa.
Hockey with a good dose of hate is simply a particularly good thing.
WAS THAT NOT THE BEST HALL-OF-FAME SPEECH EVER?
Jeremy Roenick the speechmaker is world class.
Usually, the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony can turn taciturn, reserved and rather dull.
Not this past Monday night.
JR saved the day.
Jeremy Roenick, remembered as the long-time Chicago Blackhawk superstar (man, could he skate) whose mouth was sometimes faster than his blades, gave the best induction speech this corner has seen.
Genuine and funny and heart-wrenching, Roenick went overtime with a lengthy but all-involving talk from the lectern.
He talked about second-hand smoke and flatulence battling it out during a car ride (lots of laughs here), the unconditional love his wife has shown and continues to show (lots of tears here), his many, many teammates, his ‘hero’ Chris Chelios, playing in front of the rabid Philadelphia fans and his first meeting – at a urinal of all places – with the legendary Iron Mike Keenan.
One of the many exceptional moments on the night included his last foray into the game, when as an aging veteran Roenick sat and waited impatiently for the phone to ring and have a contract offer (he was a 37-year-old free agent).
Former Ottawa 67 legend Doug Wilson, then the general manager of the San Jose Sharks, saved the day . . . and a bit more than just the day.
“Depression and alcohol had set in,” Roenick said to the now dead-quiet room. “Then I got a call from (San Jose GM) Doug Wilson, my first NHL roommate. He could see the desperation on my face.
“We went golfing, and he gave me three conditions – I had to play for the league minimum, I couldn’t do media unless they asked him first, and no alcohol. I dumped the beer out I had in my hand and scored my 500th (career goal) three months later. Thank you for being a friend when I needed it most, you truly saved my life.”
WHO’S IN CHARGE AROUND HERE?
Why, that would be the Florida Panthers.
Again.
The theme is becoming constant – the more the Panthers change, the more they stay the same.
This was supposed to be a drop-down year for the Stanley Cup champs. Florida had played more than 200 games the last two seasons. Exhaustion was expected and the team would collapse.
The Panthers, as in years past, lost some key members to the tribe. This past off-season, Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, two steady staples on the blueline, departed. Erstwhile Ottawa Senator (for a brief visit) Vladimir Tarasenko also jetted from the trophy winning team. The departures would knock them down and the team would collapse.
This is where the term ‘identity’ comes in. Every team wants one (well, at least a healthy ‘identity’) but not every organization can lay claim to one.
In Florida it’s simple. Play fast and smart, forecheck hard and get in the opposition’s face.
You throw on the jersey, you become a Panther.
This season, so far, Florida is sailing along atop the Atlantic Division. Florida’s won seven straight and shows no wear-and-tear.
It’s a frightening perspective for the rest of the division, conference and league.
OTTAWA SENATORS WEEK AHEAD:
Tuesday, Nov. 12: Ottawa at Toronto (7 pm)
Thursday, Nov. 14: Philadelphia at Ottawa (7 pm)
Saturday, Nov. 16: Ottawa at Carolina (7 pm)
Tuesday, Nov. 19: Edmonton at Ottawa (7 pm)
thegrossgame@yahoo.com
Photo: CourtesyTHN
