You don’t get do-overs when you run an NHL team. Besides, it’s such a cold-blooded industry that having regrets is a fool’s errand.
One quote that fell under the radar last year – but was significant for those reasons – was John Davidson insinuating that he wished he hadn’t let Derek MacKenzie walk in free agency.
During his tenure with the Blue Jackets, MacKenzie was all of the PFT Commenter cliches about John Kuhn rolled into one. He was a true energy guy, a gritty, high-effort, blue-collar player. Lunch pail, student of the game, first one in/last one out, etc.
MacKenzie (and Mark Letestu) gave then-coach Todd Richards the ability to roll four lines – which was a key facet of the “Blue Jackets Hockey” identity. He’s never been flashy – he didn’t even break into the league full-time until his age-29 season – posting 69 points (nice) in the union blue over a 279-game span.
A lot has changed since then for both the Jackets and D-Mac. Columbus has long abandoned the dump-and-chase “Blue Jackets Hockey” mantra, opting for a lightning-quick, skilled style of play. MacKenzie, meanwhile, is in his fourth season with the Panthers, and his second as the club’s captain. As a free agent in the summer of 2014, the Blue Jackets didn’t want to give him more than a two-year deal. He got a three-year deal, and an extension before it even expired.
Seeing MacKenzie out on the ice tonight is sure to bring back some memories for the Blue Jackets faithful – especially given the state of the team’s bottom-six – but there’s another connection to the Blue Jackets.
(Okay, so under-appreciating Jonathan Marchessault is another connection, but that’s not where I’m going. Also not going in the “Jarmo’s brother is a scout there” direction.)
This past summer, the Panthers named former NHL defenseman Bob Boughner as their head coach, filling a vacancy left by Gerard Gallant (and filled on an interim basis by now-deposed GM Tom Rowe). Boughner’s NHL coaching career started back in the 2010-11 season here in Columbus as an assistant under head coach Scott Arniel.
Just nine players remain from MacKenzie's time in Columbus – and one (Matt Calvert) from Boughner's – so the times have indeed changed.
COME ON, NHL
Remember last week, when Hockey Twitter got up-in-arms over the league’s decision to nationally televise a Buffalo-Detroit game rather than the first clash this season between Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. Well, those teams were back at it last night, in front of a national television audienc–wait what?
*Touches ear*
I’m now being told that the second and final matchup between the league’s two best players was not televised. Instead, the nation was treated to a Blackhawks-Flyers game.
Since you didn't get to see the game, here's some magic from Connor McDavid in last night's game, a 3-2 Oilers loss to Pittsburgh.
Daily dose of McDangles! #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/j0T7dinGSc
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 2, 2017
There’s a lot that goes into television deals – perhaps there’s some issue that prevented the NBC Sports from airing either of these games – but the league seems unwilling and unable to properly promote its two best players. Not ideal!
STAR WARS HYPE
So, the whole country (non mouth-breathing Yinzer division) was unable to see Penguins-Oilers last night, but society came out ahead anyways thanks to Rian Johnson.
That’s right, folks, we got an unexpected Star Wars trailer.
Darkness rises… and light to meet it. See Star Wars: #TheLastJedi in theaters December 15th. Get tickets now: https://t.co/6vE5KUSv1f. pic.twitter.com/09EiNzq3mz
— Star Wars (@starwars) November 2, 2017
Most of the footage is the same as what we already saw in the first full-length trailer. This one’s a bit shorter, but here’s a list of what we got a first glance at.
- Holy shit, Luke's back in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon
- An unknown character (with what sounds like a Scottish accent?) saying “Darkness rises, and Light to meet it” during a shot of Snoke’s lair.
- Looks like Rey's not channeling that serenity from her fight with Kylo in her training, folks.
- PORG! (same shot, but come on, PORG!)
- Finn, shooting First Order pilots down, and, once again, shouting “WOOO!” to celebrate.
- Rey, in the rain, looking *very* angry following a shot of Luke on the ground. Who’s she fighting? Luke?
These trailers are always chock full of misdirection. Are the filmmakers going to lean into the “Rey turns to the dark side” arc that fans have theorized about for months?
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