SLBAM: Not a fan of the in-season tournament

What’s up gang.

I hope it’s not too cold in Quebec. Here we still have good weather, so I’m taking advantage of it. A few questions for the week and we’ll get started right away.

Pat: Personally, I’ve always heard that a player should never pass in front of his goalkeeper, but is that really the case? Because almost every game I watch, I see a player make a pass in front of his goalie, in the enclave.

– Mitch Giguere (@Mitch_Giguere) December 15, 2023

When you’re young, in minor hockey, we try to avoid that. The skills of the players aren’t very high, let alone the confidence level of the youngsters.

I’ll go further and say that a lot of coaches would bench a player for a mistake, which isn’t necessarily a good thing, but that’s another story.

If you look, more and more of the play is in front of the net and in front of the goalie.

A lot of defensive face-offs go from the defender behind the center to the opposite winger. Even we have a lot of plays there and we exploit it, because the middle isn’t always well covered.

Would you see the NHL emulating the NBA with a tournament during the season? I was skeptical, but I found myself really enjoying this tournament, which culminated in the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory …

– Martin Blanchette (@mblanchette1966) December 14, 2023

I don’t like basketball, not my cup of tea, but I watched the Lakers semi-final as well as the final. I’ll be honest, I don’t understand the principle at all, of having a tournament during the season when you’re at the professional level.

As far as I’m concerned, you have to put all your time and energy into the season so you can make the playoffs and win the trophy at the end. And not have to prepare for a tournament which, in the end, could mean you have a bad season anyway.

The Lakers had a losing record before the tournament, and now they’re back on top. They’re going to get a big boost and that’s great for them.

But I wouldn’t like to see that in hockey. Especially not a contact sport with injuries and all.

I’m going to go as far as even the Olympics, I’d like it to be after the season (so during the summer) to make sure there’s no break in the season. I know it’s impossible, but okay.

On the other hand, I’ll continue to watch basketball and the effect of the season tournament to see what impact it will have.

Prolongation

Jordan Kyrou fights back tears as he talks about being booed by the St. Louis fans tonight pic.twitter.com/wzAy3aYBPA

– Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 15, 2023

I’ll refrain from comment, but, after asking a question about your coach who just got fired and is beloved in the city, to say no comment since he’s no longer my coach… That’s not a good example of leadership.

I’m not surprised by the fans’ reaction, but more than surprised by his post-game comments. At some point, you have to be careful what you say, because it can easily come back to you.

Game day ‘fits incoming!

It’s time to gear up for our inaugural season. The PWHL Shop is open now!
https://t.co/gpjGluBs1g pic.twitter.com/CFD0QQtQiR

– PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) December 15, 2023

I try to talk about it as best I can and as often as I can. But when I saw the article on Balle Courbe, I couldn’t believe it.

A $50 Canadian cap with three letters on it… I have a bit of a hard time. I liked the old PWHL one better, in my humble opinion. I understand that life is getting more and more expensive, but it’s hard to see myself buying this for my daughter, who loves hockey.

I think it’s a miss here, especially for their departure. On another note, though, I’m glad to see it’s sold out everywhere. Congratulations.

This ends my article, once again, thank you all. Have a good Sunday and we’ll talk again @Mitch_Giguere.