1) First, we want to give Chris all the due respect his Hall of Fame career deserves. He has lasted so long with tremendous hard work and dedication and certainly deserves to be enshrined into the HOF and has been one of the best Americans to lace on the skates.
2) That said, the absolute idiocy of the award can not be overlooked. For one its NOT a real/NHL sanctioned award. Else it would be given at the official NHL Awards gala on June 14th. Where the real awards like the Hart, Calder etc are dispensed. No, this award(The only named for a living player) The Mark Messier leadership Award as they call it is simply just a marketing gimmick by a cold remedy product. Being fronted by a guy who never met a paycheck he didn't cash. (We discussed the award when it first was announced last fall: http://newfaux.blogspot.com/2007/11/messier-award.html)
3) Me$$ier supposedly had 'input' into the monthly and end of year choices. Oddly, Chelios was NOT among of the 7 monthly winners. Guess he suddenly came on at the end? LOL We still can't believe that papers carried the story of this farce award. Giving it faux credibility, and free advertisement for the sponsor.
4) We're hoping the award is either a one shot deal and dies out, OR the NHL adopts it as part of the year end ceremony, eliminates the silly sponsorship, and assigns a name of a player who's face we aren't subjected to seeing on a nightly basis.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
This silly award that Mark "Four Children, No Wives" Messier presents each month is simply a way for the NHL to keep him in the spotlight... He is presently being groomed for a high ranking position, and this is BUTTman's vehicle for "not" allowing us to forget the egotistical "Messiah."
On a more positive note, Chris Chelios, not only held his own these playoffs, but he excelled and was one of the best Red Wings... He continues to earn the respect he deserves around the league...
1) We all agree on your Chelios lauds. His performance these past playoffs at age 78 was inspirational
2) However the award will not be taken seriously until its a real NHL sanctioned award, and voted upon in a similar fashion as the other year end and monthly accolades
Who would you consider a more appropriate namesake for the award, should it become official some day? Should they wait until Messier dies to adopt it, or would they name it after another famous captain?
Who would you pick?
Can I make up an award.. I'll send one of those youth soccer style trophies to someone in the mail and name it after whoever I want.
I could come up with soem good ones i bet.
The Tocchet award
The Kovalev award
The Belfour award
See there's a bunch to wok with.
1) As many could probably tell, we're not big Messier fans. Yes, his numbers and record is hard to deny. His 6 Cups and point totals are undeniably not only HOF material, but arguably top 10 players of all time
2) However, for example ask a Canucks fan what they think of the Messiah's 'leadership skills'. Or even ask a Ranger fan what they think of Messier's second tour with their team.
3) They will tell you his ego was such that he became polarizing, especially to the younger players. His presence was a detriment, not an inspiration/positive
4) If such an award is ever sanctioned by the NHL we will concede that a living individual might be used. We're certain that they could come up with an appropriate person to honor. We'll open up the question to anyone who wants to weigh-in on this.
First, I agree that Chelios is a poor choice for this award. However I disagree with your point that he didn't win it during the season so how could he win it at the end?
The Rocket Richard Trophy goes to the player who scores the most goals by the end of the season, not who lead it most of the season. The Hart trophy goes to the player considered to be MVP (of league or team, but that is a whole other debate), not to the player who was selected NHL player of the week the most, or player of the month the most.
As for Chelios, I think he is an excellent leader for the Wings. He sets the bar high in terms of fitness and game preparation. However he is a fierce competitor and thus not always the most sportsmanlike player. He was the Wing player who left without shaking hands after losing to the Ducks. I know it isn't a sportsmanship award, but Leadership should encompass all aspects of the game.
1) Faux's comparison that Chelios somehow didn't merit mention during the season as a top leader yet was found to be The Best of all leaders, differs from a real/statistically understandable award like the Richard Trophy
2) We wonder if any player actually won the Hart without being named a player of the week/month during the season.
3) We're sure that can be uncovered and would lend more credence to Shucks argument than the Richard trophy comparison
Post a Comment