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Who would have thought that the worst part of post-lockout hockey would be the officiating?

Frankly between the circus-clown officiating and the lack of conditioning and polish of these teams, I find I'm just not that interested in hockey right now.

I mean, I went to the home opener, and what resulted from that? It was fun and all, but the most noteworthy reaction I had was the fact that I paid $5 for a fountain drink that was all carbonation. So I went and found a vendor selling pop by the bottle, and paid her $5 for a 600mL bottle of pop. So I ended up paying $10 for a bottle of pop.

Hockey? Yeah, there was some hockey. And the good guys won, which was good.

But overall I don't feel the need to vent about the officiating because frankly I'm just not watching. For some reason I just don't care.

...other than that, I got nothing.

(Update: This article talks about the new definition of interference, which explains some of the calls which would be ordinarily stupid.  Personally I look for normal service to resume well before the playoffs.)

Hockey is back!...

Hooray, hockey is back! I kept the afternoon clear, made sure the were the requisite number of snacks, and had the drinks on ice. 3PM came around and I got on the sweater, flipped the channel to CBC, and settled in for the afternoon.

And you know what?

Meh, that's what.

Maybe it was the fact that the broadcast started at three, while the puck was dropped at 3:35. Maybe it was having to watch the LA Kings Stanley Cup love fest. (Which they have totally earned, by the way, I just don't want to have to sit through it myself.) Maybe it was having to watch the Jets introducing their team to the home crowd.

Maybe it was the early goal given up by the Senators. (Totally not Anderson's fault, by the way. We knew this defence would give up goals, and that is what they did on this one. And the two posts in the first.)

But put it all together and I wasn't engaged.

Hockey is back, I'm just not sure I care yet.

Which isn't good news for Monday, because I have a ticket in section 109 for the home opener.

(Also, free beer at the home opener. Not sure this is a good idea. In fact I think it is a terrible idea. But since I don't drink I'm not exactly an unbiased commentator on that part.)

Random thoughts from today's game (which are totally worth half what you paid for them):

• Is it just me, or were the senators unable to hold on to their sticks? Seems like everyone was dropping them.
• First penalty call of the night: legit. But only if the officials keep calling penny-ante stuff like that. Which I don't ink they will.
• Kind nice to see goalie give up some soft goals for Turris and Michalek. Remember a couple of years ago when the Senators threw over 50 shots at him and he shut them out?
• Only real difference between the Jets and Senators tonight: Ottawa did a better job of capitalizing on Jets errors. Other than that, the game was as bad as I thought it was going to be. Wait a month for everyone to shake off the lock-out rust and the game will be much better to watch.

2012-2013 Preview

Screen-grab from Facebook, because I'm lazy.

My prediction: no playoffs, but no lottery position either (if there even still is such a thing in the new CBA world).

Update: nobody pointed out that I should have written "2012-2013". Stupid new year.

Burke Fired -- Instant Reaction

With ten days to go before the season starts:

What's the most insane hockey move you could make today?#MapleLeafs firing of Brian Burke has to at least be top 3.
— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) January 9, 2013

And frankly it continues to get weird, since promoted former-deputy-and-not-temporary GM Dave Nonis is pretty much going to keep doing what Burke was doing.  Which is good from a short-term perspective -- there's no sea change expected nine days before the puck drops on the shortened season and makes it perhaps slightly less insane (say top five instead of top three).

But from a long term perspective it is trouble, because the last four years have not exactly yielded any success beyond periodic beatings of better Senators teams.

I've long wondered why the Leafs were so chronically bad. I didn't think that Burke was the idiot that the last four years have made him out to look like, even though his decisions have been head scratching at times.

But then I don't think like a lot of hockey fans. I don't think that Roberto Luongo would be the solution to the Leaf's goaltending issues because the main problem with the goaltending is the rest of the team playing in front of the goalies. I guess that's a rant for a different blogger.

I'd say that for the Leafs, it isn't possible to make things worse any more -- but I've been proven wrong on that time and again.

Amnesty Targets History

So I lost the good fight on amnesty clauses -- I guess it was too attractive a dumb idea to not get tapped. Teams will get two amnesty buyouts each -- one this year and one next.

Which brings us to this article listing potential amnesty targets for each team.

What gets me is that if you read down the list, it reads like a whos-who of Ottawa Senators history:

• Marian Hossa in Chicago
• Anton Volchenkov in New Jersey
• Alexi Yashin in Brooklyn New York
• Wade Reddin in the other New York
• Dany Heatley in Minnesota
• Martin Havlat in San Jose

I suspect if you look at it, you'll see more Senators alumni on that list than any other team.

Man, those glory days were something, eh?

And really, who on today's roster is going to attract the same kind of reminiscing?  Spezza?  Yes.  Karlsson?  Absolutely.  Alfredsson?  Without a doubt.  And after that?... does anyone seriously think we are going to be remembering the glory days of Colin Greening?

It was fun while it lasted.  Now we're just trying to not be Toronto.

Of All Time

Here's a list of the Top 10 Worst NHL Logos Of All Time.  That's right: of all time.

And look who's in 7th?

Text:

The Ottawa Senators had a perfectly good logo when they debuted in 1992. Then they came up with their first third jersey in 1997. And it had this multi-colored mark on the front. And we all asked, "why?" Turning the guy's head to make the logo more three-dimensional takes the logo to a weird place. And it just looks bad. The Sens thought they fixed the problem in 2007 by adding bolder lines and sharper corners. But they didn't. Long live the 2D head.

(looks up at the top right of this post) Long live the 2D head indeed.

While I agree that the 2D logo is superior, I'm not sure this qualifies as one of the top 10 all time. The 3D look never warmed me, for some reason I prefer the old* logo.

And I don't think the Jet's current logo deserves to be on that list either, even if my initial reaction was less than complementary. (Why is that jet bombing a curling rink?)

---

*= as opposed to the "classic logo", which is the barbershop-O. Which still looks like a zero to me, as in "how many stanley cups has your team won?"

Boycott

One of the things that is floating around this lockout is the idea of some kind of retributive strike on the part of the fans when the league returns. A particular variation is along the lines of "a game for a game" -- that is, the fans would boycott the league one game after the return for each game that has been cancelled.

My first reaction is that this is a stupid idea -- along the lines of "you won't take my money when I want to spend it on you, so I'll stop spending money on you for longer!"

But on reflection, I think this is a great idea.  Think about it.  What's going to happen when the league comes back?  Faux-apologetic pricing discounts!  ie tickets which are marginally cheaper than normal!  And if the hard-core fans boycott the league, that'll mean there is less demand for them, which means A) I'll be more likely to afford to go, and B) I'll be more likely to get a good seat when I go.

And if the boycott really does have an effect, then at the very least the pricing will be extended -- if not reduced to actual-apologetic pricing!  Thus improving the chance that I'll be able to go more than once!

So I say on with the boycott!  Thanks for the seats!

But really, we know that the majority of those loudly proclaiming that they'll boycott will have their bums firmly in seats one the league resumes play next fall, and those who actually stop paying their money will be in a minority, so the net effect on attendance will be minimal.