As you might have heard after appreciable wailing from gamers and at the least the Canadian fanbase who want something to be ok with themselves today, the NHL has lastly reinstituted a global calendar for not solely the Olympics however ultimately a World Cup the subsequent few years. The latter gained’t be coming till 2028, so within the meantime subsequent yr the All-Star recreation will probably be scrapped for a four-team mini-tournament between Canada, the US, Sweden, and Finland to whet everybody’s urge for food for the Olympics the next yr in Italy (nobody’s fairly certain but if it’ll be in Milan, the host metropolis, or again to Turin due to area points).
Which suggests followers lastly get to play the enjoyable recreation of outlining what nationwide groups ought to appear like with the very best gamers on Earth, and USA Hockey will get one other probability to point out its ass. Which it by no means misses!
At this time, USA Hockey named Invoice Guerin as GM of those two groups the subsequent two years, which is an attention-grabbing look contemplating the occasions. As a result of with Hockey Canada having to be fully overhauled and nonetheless very a lot within the muck over covering up sexual assaults from players within the program, one must say it’s a selection for USA Hockey to decide on Guerin, himself accused of covering up a sexual assault when he was a part of the Penguins entrance workplace. In that lawsuit, Guerin was accused of telling Jarrod Skalde, husband of Erin Skalde who claimed the coach of the Penguins AHL group had assaulted her, to maintain it quiet after Skalde knowledgeable him of what his spouse had mentioned Clark Donatelli had executed.
Whereas the lawsuit that Erin and Jarrod Skalde filed in opposition to the Penguins was ultimately settled, it’s curious that USA Hockey would need any form of whiff of not caring about this form of factor across the group given what’s happening up north.
Making this much more of a boondoggle is that Guerin this past fall was under investigation for verbal abuse of a Wild worker. The group concluded that Guerin had not dedicated a fireable offense after an inside investigation. And we should always at all times consider when an NHL group says so, proper?
No matter Guerin did or didn’t do, USA Hockey is at greatest obtuse and at worst fiendishly uncaring about even the looks of not taking the present greatest situation in hockey significantly.
And on a a lot decrease stage, why even take the chance for somebody who may not even be that good on the job? There’s been nothing about Guerin’s tenure as GM of the Wild that marks him out as something aside from surroundings, which the Wild have been for his or her total existence anyway. What precisely has he unearthed in St. Paul that marks him out as a throbbing hockey mind?
Tom Fitzgerald has put collectively one of many extra thrilling, younger rosters in New Jersey, even when they will’t keep wholesome. Chris Drury was all issues Staff USA as a participant, and the Rangers have amassed far more regular-season success than the Wild. Invoice Zito constructed a Presidents’ Trophy winner and Stanley Cup finalist in Florida, attaining that membership’s greatest streak of hockey of their total existence. Oh, proper, he’s a former agent so he can’t crack this outdated boy’s membership.
Then once more, this is similar group that allow John Vanbiesbrouck again in to be GM of the WJC group, so possibly expectations that the group might rise above the sludge are simply too excessive.
Additionally, this isn’t that onerous of a job that solely a present NHL GM, who in all probability has greater than sufficient on their plate already, can do it. Right here, I’ll assist: Choose the three Hughes brothers, the 2 Tkachuk rubbish sons, Auston Matthews, J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Alex DeBrincat, Jason Robertson, Kyle Connor, Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, Adam Fox, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, Connor Hellebuyck in web. There, you’re executed. Should you wanna sub in Jake Guenztel someplace, high quality. Thatcher Demko can again up Hellebuyck. Phew, that was exhausting! Guess I’ll crack a chilly one and look ahead to my name from USA Hockey.
