2011-12 NHL Season

[IceCap]

So apparently the Quebec provincial government isn't too happy with the Canadiens' interim coach and is demanding (I'm not quite sure if that's the right word) that their next full-time coach speak French.

The Quebec provincial government has more important things to worry about then who coaches a hockey team.

Yeah, like getting a second team.

Bring back the Maroons!

You say that jokingly and yet....

[Breakwood]

So apparently the Quebec provincial government isn't too happy with the Canadiens' interim coach and is demanding (I'm not quite sure if that's the right word) that their next full-time coach speak French.

Just to correct this slightly. The Quebec government never said anything. The opppsition party (The Parti Quebecois) said that the Habs should have a French speaking coach. The Government (the Liberals) haven't said anything either way. Just opposition politicians stirring the pot for the sake of stirring the pot.

[The_Admiral]

I think fans should be smart enough that they'll take a good coach even if he can't speak French, or not fluently at best. It should not be a great barrier. That didn't stop the Montreal Alouettes or Expos in that market. You can bring in an interpreter to press conferences, and I often see Quebec TV interviews where the bilingual questioner would translate the answer back to French.

But the Alouettes and Expos aren't the symbols of Quebec culture that the Montreal Canadiens are. If you are a francophone journalist in Montreal, you should not need an interpreter to talk to a figurehead of the Montreal Canadiens. It's not even that the coach's name isn't Jacques or Claude or Pierre, because the Canadiens won four Cups with Scotty Bowman, but I'm pretty certain that Scotty Bowman deigned to learn French. No one's making any unreasonable demands of the guy here. You're in a French-speaking city, make sure you speak it too.

[slapshot]

But he's not hired as some ambassador. He's a coach. His main priority is to coach the team.

Would it make things easier if he spoke French? Sure.

Is it required? No. Especially in a bilingual country. As long as he speaks one of the official languages there should not be any issue.

[The_Admiral]

Well, his job clearly has requirements beyond coaching the team. Being the head coach of any sports team of relative import (so, like, not the Nashville Predators; Barry Trotz could very well speak some Tolkien language and nobody would know or care) makes one a very public figure, and in that role as a public figure, it's a good idea to speak the same language as your public, or at least try. All anyone's asking is that he try.

[IceCap]

I think part of Cunneyworth's problem is that he never expected to be head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

You're right, while being able up address the Francophone media in French shouldn't be required, it is ideal. With Cunneyworth, though, he was coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs and thus wasn't really expected to learn French. Then Martin got canned and now he's in a position, head coach of a French Canadian institution, that he never thought he'd be in. He's gone from no one caring if he learns French to everyone demanding that he learn it overnight. That's on top of having to take on his new responsibilities as head coach of an NHL organization. I'm sure the language thing is the last thing he wants to deal with at the moment, just by virtue of everything happening the way it has.

I'd give the guy some time. Let him get his barrings straight and ease into the situation. If he sticks around for any notable amount of time the language thing will take care of itself.

[Kevin W.]

So apparently the Quebec provincial government isn't too happy with the Canadiens' interim coach and is demanding (I'm not quite sure if that's the right word) that their next full-time coach speak French.

Just to correct this slightly. The Quebec government never said anything. The opppsition party (The Parti Quebecois) said that the Habs should have a French speaking coach. The Government (the Liberals) haven't said anything either way. Just opposition politicians stirring the pot for the sake of stirring the pot.

According to this, it's the Quebecois culture minister.

[NEW.ERA]

I think it's a bunch of crap.

Marc Crawford didn't no a lick of French when he started off in Quebec, took classes, and in four months could speak some French. If Cunneyworth really wants to speak French he'll do it, if he doesn't so what, he can't be forced. He was given the job because Habs upper management feel that he is good for the job right now, and obviously they weren't concerned with him knowing French.

[The_Admiral]

John Scott actually did a fight the right way: instead of politely asking his corresponding goon to engage him in a bout of fisticuffmanship, he saw an opponent level a teammate with a dirty hit and immediately destroyed the guy. Too bad this was a bull instigator penalty! Punish the staged fights, not justified retaliation.

[CS85]

Hawks left their game in Chicago. They're lucky it's only 1-0.

[Don]

Its too bad Randy Cunneyworth its just some stupid english pig with no brain! -Denis Lemieux

[The_Admiral]

Look at all the penalties these guys draw. More like the Beige Wings.

[Geoff]

Punish the staged fights, not justified retaliation.

QFT

[NEW.ERA]

Flames playing a very solid game tonight against the NW leading Wild. Jarome Iginla only 3 goals away from 500, and with almost certainty punch a ticket to 30 Yonge Street in Toronto.

[The_Admiral]

sizemore and McCarthy: what do you suppose the Jackets would like from the Blackhawks for half a year of Vinny Prospal? Mid-round pick and/or a mid-tier prospect? A 4th and the satisfaction of a nice, exhilarating salary dump?

[evanmaldonado]

sizemore and McCarthy: what do you suppose the Jackets would like from the Blackhawks for half a year of Vinny Prospal? Mid-round pick and/or a mid-tier prospect? A 4th and the satisfaction of a nice, exhilarating salary dump?

I'm not either of those mentioned, but I think him at a near point per game pace is worth at least a second rounder or a mid level prospect and a 4th-5th rounder.

If that doesn't work I'd be okay with Nash for a prospect scout

[Sport]

sizemore and McCarthy: what do you suppose the Jackets would like from the Blackhawks for half a year of Vinny Prospal? Mid-round pick and/or a mid-tier prospect? A 4th and the satisfaction of a nice, exhilarating salary dump?

Prospal's old and likely won't re-sign with the Blue Jackets after this year so it'd be wise to get something for one of the few guys on the team with any value. At this point, I'd say mid-round/mid-range prospect would be fair. People wouldn't be happy here as he's already a fan favorite, but people here are stupid.

Now, I'm off to take a nice, exhilarating dump of my own.

[crashcarson15]

sizemore and McCarthy: what do you suppose the Jackets would like from the Blackhawks for half a year of Vinny Prospal? Mid-round pick and/or a mid-tier prospect? A 4th and the satisfaction of a nice, exhilarating salary dump?

Prospal's old and likely won't re-sign with the Blue Jackets after this year so it'd be wise to get something for one of the few guys on the team with any value. At this point, I'd say mid-round/mid-range prospect would be fair. People wouldn't be happy here as he's already a fan favorite, but people here are stupid.

Now, I'm off to take a nice, exhilarating dump of my own.

You mean the same people that bitched about never acquiring another good, proven player who bitched when they traded Voracek to get Carter? Yeah, those people.

But yeah, exactly what McCarthy said.

[The_Admiral]

I have NHL Gamecenter and a pizza baking in the oven, so I thought I'd pregame for Habs-Hawks with a little Coyotes @ Hurricanes action. Bad idea. Befitting a hockey game being contested between teams from Phoenix and Raleigh, this is one of the rare untelevised contests in Big Four sports. There's no away feed, and the so-called home feed is some sort of in-arena production called "CanesVision HD" that briefly had the radio audio before puckdrop but is now silent. EXCEPT, however, when the ref announces a penalty over his wireless mic. That gets picked up. I can also hear the organ playing, but as soon as it's done, it's silent again.

Phoenix scored. I'd never know, because I was looking away from the TV.

This is some weird stuff. I feel like I'm watching Twilight Zone Public Access.

The radio feed is back! Chuck Kaiton sounds like a cartoon character, a cartoon character that's going to have a grabber any second now.

Apparently Andreas Noel is now "Andreas Noodle." You'd think a guy named Noodle would rather go by Nodl.

I want it to be the Hawks game now. Help.

EDIT: do games have TV timeouts at 6/10/14 when they're not on TV? The answer is yes! There is in-arena entertainment for me to watch, as if I were so lucky as to be there! Something called "Ron the Ref" is playing, I crap you not, a rendition of the short-lived USA Network game show Bumper Stumpers. He asked a kid to guess whose car had a license plate spelling RUDLF.

The answer was "Rudolph."

EDIT: OH MY FREAKING LORD JESUS CHRIST THEY JUST KEPT CUTTING TO PEOPLE IN THE CROWD EVERY SECOND I'M GOING TO HAVE A GODDAMN SEIZURE

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?

EDIT: Gamecenter went to commercial break for the second TV timeout. I wanted to see if they'd play Press Your Luck.

EDIT: my liveblogging of untelevised televised hockey is mercifully over. The score was 1-1 when I left. I don't want either team to win.

[RyanMcD29]

Continuing on the Canes-Coyotes feed on Center Ice/Gamecenter

...Free wings for a year just by answering "what are Santa's 9 reindeer?" I need to make a road trip to Raleigh with all these gimmicks they got going on during TV timeouts