From the Archives: Tomorrow's Headlines Today

On Friday, October 8th, 2010, the day before the puck dropped to begin the Canucks' regular season, we at PITB made some bold predictions about the headlines this season of hockey might generate. With the regular season set to expire after tonight's HNIC tilt with the Calgary Flames, we thought it might be a good idea to go back and see how many if these predictions turned out to be stone-cold prophecies.

As it turns out, the answer is one. Exactly six months ago yesterday, I predicted that Raffi Torres would be suspended four games for a headshot. No lie, I sailed right into the mystic on that one. You'll forgive me if I quit my job, invest in small tent, some hanging beads and a dry ice machine, and begin plying my trade as a carnival seer. Looks like I've got the psychic goods.

But don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself, and maybe ignore the other nineteen I got wrong. Anyway. Here, for your perusal, is Tomorrow's Headlines Today: This Season's Canuck News, an original PITB article.

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From the Archives: Sami Salo is a Superhero

In case you haven't heard, Sami Salo will be making his season-debut for the Canucks' in tomorrow night's game versus the Calgary Flames after rehabbing an offseason tear to his Achilles tendon suffered during a game of floorball. It should be an exciting moment for Salo, who no doubt suffered through a lot of mental and physical resistance to make it to this point.

Any time that Salo returns to the lineup from an injury, however, it's worth taking pause to marvel at how many he's had over the years. Muscle tears; burning sensations; snake bites; testicular fulminations--Salo's had it all. He's averaged about three a year for his career. That's insane. It's unbelievable.

In fact, it's too unbelievable. Early in PITB's run, Daniel posited a pretty theory that made sense of Salo's bizarro injury history. Sami Salo's a superhero.

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From the Archives: Let the NHL All-Star Game Stay Meaningless

Way back in November, well in advance of the NHL's announcements regarding changes to this year's All-Star game, I made a pitch for an All-Star format very similar to the one we're about to see.

Before you get too worked up, I should clarify that nobody stole my idea. It turned out that Brendan Shanahan had pitched the idea about six months earlier at the annual NHL GM meetings. But, though I didn't get flown out to New York and given a job as an idea man, I was excited to know I would see my idea implemented nonetheless.

A summary of my argument is as follows: the All-Star Game is completely meaningless, and by its very nature, it has to be. But, meaningless though it is, that doesn't mean it can't also be fun. Hockey is fun. The NHL players like to have fun. I wanted the NHL to drop the desperate efforts to give some edge to the game and, instead, ratchet up the efforts to make the game more fun.

I felt like having player captains pick their teams--a pond hockey throwback--was one way to toss out the austerity and celebrate the game. That's effectively what they're doing. That said, you'll see in the article that I would have done a few things differently. I would have kept it simpler, and I thought it was useless to let fans vote for a starting six rather than the team captains. But these are small quibbles; the basic idea remains the same. Take a gander at Let the NHL All-Star Game Stay Meaningless, an original PITB article.

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From the Archives: Is Lee Sweatt the Next Brian Rafalski?

If you spent the weekend engaged in activities and doin thangs, you might have missed the news that the Canucks have recalled defenseman Lee Sweatt. This is primarily a precautionary measure. Kevin Bieksa's eye is swollen shut, and because he's not Steve Nash, he probably can't play like that. Unless Juice gets better in a hurry, Lee Sweatt will get the nod.

But who is Lee Sweatt? Is he worth getting excited about? Possibly. Last September, when Sweatt was just one of many training camp hopefuls, I suggested he might be the next Brian Rafalski. I'll admit it's far-fetched to assume Sweatt can match the impressive career of the Red Wings defenseman, but it's not impossible, and the similarities between the two players are uncanny. Since interest in him couldn't be higher, I thought I'd dig the post up from the archives and give it a second tour. So, here, for your perusal, is Is Lee Sweatt the Next Brian Rafalski?, an original PITB article.

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