Five For Friday: Should Kane Reach Out To Seguin?

1) Kane should reach out to Seguin:  As Blackhawk fans, we all know how the party life can affect the perception of a player.  Sure, now everyone is back onboard the “Kaners great!” train, but it wasn’t that long ago that a portion of the fans wanted him gone.  Seguin is in a very similar situation, and while we might appreciate his lack of production during the playoffs, we shouldn’t ignore his plight.  Kane and Seguin played in Switzerland, and they were quite the duo.  The difference was that Kane was living with him Mom in Switzerland, and Seguin lived on his own and partied heartily.  Kane went into that situation realizing that he was jeopardizing his career, and maybe that makes him the perfect guy to talk to Seguin.  Even with Seguin being a direct opponent as a Dallas Star, it would be a shame to have a talented player end up throwing everything away.

2) NHL has a lot of great media, and they should use it:  You know what my favorite part of NHL 24/7 was?  It was the on ice player and ref interactions.  The NHL has tapped into their mass collection of audio and video snippets from these past playoffs to bring us refs and players mic’d up.  They also released multiple mic’d up player moments as well.  They appear to have an abundance of material they could release, but they seem to choose not to.  I understand they need to edit these things before they can release them to the public, but these clips are intriguing and draw the fans in.  The NHL is sitting on something that could greatly entertain the diehards and, more importantly for them, draw in new fans with some of the funnier montages. I added the ref video below, just in case you missed it.

3) Still no agreement on the Olympics:  When the NHL announced it was thinking about banning its players from playing for their countries in the Olympics I nearly blew a gasket.  I understand it’s a business, and they are protecting their assets, but that isn’t a valid excuse when they let players play completely injured during the playoffs.  This was a cash grab move, and it continues to be about money.  It’s a shame, but at least the players are willing to do what it takes to represent their nations.

4) Hockey hugs and other unique articles:  Hockey is an intense, violent sport, and when these players let loose after scoring a goal, it’s always fun to see.  I really appreciate the nuances of hockey.  When people find ways to highlight the little things, it only helps grow the sport.  These warriors don’t fist bump or pound their chest.  No, they embrace their teammates and share a moment of pure, genuine happiness.  The camaraderie builds not just on the ice but everywhere.  These players find their way into our hearts through their quirks, and it’s great to have people highlighting that.

5) Enforcers:  With Carcillo and Mayers gone, the Hawks are left with Brandon Bollig to protect the stars.  The Hawks dropped John Scott for Carcillo, Mayers, and Bollig.  Both Carcillo and Mayers were brought in to be tough guys that could still produce from time to time.  Bollig was a slightly more useful version of John Scott.  In the end, the cheaper more fight focused player was kept, and it’s probably for the best.  We proved that we don’t need three guys to do the same job.  Now we can bring up a few Icehogs, and they will have the chance to do some damage on the scoreboard.