|
It may be rather chilly outside, but it’s scorching hot on social media these days when it comes to certain sports-related topics.
Let’s touch on a few of them.
First up was the news conference earlier this week in which the Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled their new general manager, John Chayka, who comes with a bit of a checkered past.
His previous tenure with the Arizona Coyotes was filled with controversy and ended with an abrupt resignation and an NHL suspension for “conduct detrimental to the league.”
This was in regards to pursuing other job opportunities while still working with the Desert Dogs and also running an illegal side session of top prospects at the league combine. The hockey club ultimately had to forfeit a pair of draft picks.
Chayka was a curious choice, that’s for sure. But if you subscribe to the theory that everyone deserves a second chance and we can learn (and mature) from our mistakes, then you might be on board with the hire.
Advertisement
Naturally, with Chayka being introduced in the Centre of the Hockey Universe, tough questions were going to be asked by media. As they should be. But it was the one from veteran Toronto Sun scribe Steve Simmons to Keith Pelley, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which quickly went viral and sparked debate.
In case you missed it:
Simmons: “You talk the due diligence you did prior to hiring him and now hiring him. In the past three to four days I have contacted 20 people in the NHL, many of whom are names we all know. Of all 20, one was supportive of his hiring, the other 19 thought it was a sham, quite honestly. Words like clown, artist, liar, salesman. How did you come to a different conclusion than I did in such a short time?”
Pelley: “We must have talked to different people.”
Simmons: “That’s it? Because the hockey world is astounded by this announcement.”
Yowza. That, folks, is a high, hard fastball. Some chin music, if you will.
I’ve seen plenty of mixed opinions out there. Plenty of folks are going after Simmons — suggesting he tried to make the moment about himself while speaking in such a condescending, disrespectful way — while others are applauding the take-no-prisoners approach.
My take? I’m somewhat in the middle here.
I have zero problem with asking hard questions about the nature of such a high-profile hire. And good on Simmons for being up front with the approach he was taking, rather than not showing up to the news conference at all and doing a drive-by smear in a column. That takes guts.
However — and perhaps this is just me — but I would have dialed back the rhetoric just a little bit. There were other ways to get to the heart of the issue here. An example: “In speaking with people around the league, I’ve heard plenty of skepticism and criticism about this move. How thorough was your vetting process and what would you say to those who might take issue with the hire? Are you concerned about John Chayka’s ability to work with other NHL executives, given his history and the potential blowback?”
Where do you folks stand?
Sticking with the NHL and the Leafs, it didn’t take long for plenty of hockey fans to grab their tin-foil hats after Toronto won the draft lottery on Wednesday night.
Many conspiracy theorists see this as awfully convenient, a team surrounded by an ongoing tire fire suddenly lucks out in such a big way.
To which I say: That’s utter nonsense. There is no fix. The lottery was not rigged.
We saw it play out on live television, and it’s worth remembering that Toronto did have the fifth-best odds. Plenty of teams in the past have moved even higher, most recently the New York Islanders just a year ago, who shot up from the No. 10 spot.
Besides, don’t you think if there was even a hint of scandal to the draft lottery that we’d be hearing howls of protest from some or all of the other 31 NHL teams? Instead, it’s mostly just fans screaming into the void.
This is much ado about nothing, in my opinion.
It is too bad the Winnipeg Jets fell a spot to No. 8. Selfishly, I was hoping they might land the pride of Cypress River, Carson Carels, with their pick. I spent a day last week on the Carels family farm, getting to know the young man and the “village” that helped get him to this stage of his career as a top NHL prospect.
Unfortunately, I see virtually no scenario where he’s still available by the time the Jets pick. They might have had a chance had they remained in the No. 7 spot, but even that would have been remote. My guess: Carels goes fourth, fifth or sixth to either the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers or Calgary Flames.
As for who the Jets might get at No. 8? Four names stand out to me: Centres Tynan Lawrence and Viggo Björck, and defencemen Daxon Rudolph and Alberts Šmits.
Who do you want the Jets to pick at that spot?
Last, but certainly not least, the Mike Vrabel/Diana Russini alleged cheating scandal just won’t go away.
In fact, it seems to be growing with each passing day, with the likes of TMZ and the New York Post, among others, uncovering plenty more dirt on the current New England Patriots head coach and the former Athletic football reporter, who recently stepped down.
This is like Christmas to the tabloids.
I’m not going to get into the mud on this one, but I will say this: The cover-up is often worse than the crime, and that’s what seems to be playing out there.
Looking at this purely from a sports perspective, I’m not sure how Vrabel can continue in his role if it is proven he lied to the organization and his players about the nature of this whole episode.
Truth, and trust, is paramount in a coaching situation — and in journalism — and once you’ve lost it, you really have nothing.
That’s presumably why Russini is no longer in her position. Might Vrabel soon be joining her?
I suspect we haven’t seen the last episode of this sports soap opera.
One final note for today
We do some fun things at the Free Press, including a live edition of our monthly Winnipeg Jets mailbag hosted by myself and fellow hockey writer Ken Wiebe.
That sold-out event is being held tonight and access is limited to members of our Patron Program, which helps support the local journalism we are doing. If you’d like to get on board — and ensure you can attend the next event we hold — please go here to learn more.
|
