Foremost on my Mind: Up with the Cup

 
Let's see now: Heads are starting to roll, suds are starting to flow, and the golf courses are starting to get packed with scores of hockey players. It must be that time of year, namely, when our teams are once again playing what some call the real NHL.
 
Well, at least some of our teams are playing hockey. The rest are playing golf.
 
I admit that I know little about hockey, both from an experiental and a technical point of view. Still I find this time of year (mid-April to to mid-June) one of the most exciting times of the year. As I have stated here before, I still get a rush over the trade deadline day, as well as the first week after July 1 (also known as “Grovelling-to-the-Highest Bidder Day.”)
 
As I write this, the Vancouver Canucks (you may remember them: winners of the President's Cup, the William Jennings Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy [and we're just starting the hardware store]) are about to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. To be sure, Chicago is worse off than they were last year and Vancouver is better off, but it still gives any diehard Canucks' fan a few of the heebie-jeebies.
 
By the time you read this, the heebie-jeebies may have turned into the cowabungas.
 
So far, within a week of the season ending, four coaches have been turfed (fired, dropped, dumped, let go, terminated) for not producing winnning records at worst, playoff-bound teams at best. And a fifth coach has quit. And there may be more victims of unemployment. That should make for some interesting musical chairs, come the end of June. Traditionally, general managers like to have their coaching staff in place before the draft.
 
Apart from predictions, also known as a scientific guesswork, there are further questions for other teams that failed to make the playoffs. Calgary will have to take a long, hard look at overhauling their roster, assessing which players stay and which ones go. Edmonton may allow Tom Rennie another year of re-building before he gets turfed, fired, dropped, dumped, let go, then terminated.
 
The questions of Atlanta and Phoenix are always on the minds of hockey purists, especially those who live in Winnipeg and Quebec City. There is no question in my mind that those two teams should shift north, to say nothing of the viable market for the greater Toronto area, as well as in either Saskatoon or Regina. Whether teams with uncertain futures like Dallas and Florida would be the next two to go is up to Bettman and his henchmen.
 
While we're visiting NHL trivia, here's further random thoughts: Have you ever noticed how many teams have a predominence of red, white, and blue, or just red? Even teams where there is another colour (eg., Washington and Atlanta) have red as their third jersey. I have always wondered at the lack of creativity in mixing colours. (Probably the worst professional league for limited creativity is the MLB.)
 
Why not green or burgundy as primary colours? I think burgundy and silver would be an awesome combination. The Canucks, of course, have blue and green as their primary colours, though not normally a great combination. However, I'm sure you'll agree that it looks stunned, er, stunning on them. Minnesota, so far as I know, is the only other team with somewhere.
 
My own bias coming through here, but I really like the logos of the Origninal Six teams. I like the simple, distingushed style. I think graphic artists call this minimalist. (I do like the Canucks' witty artwork: A killer whale leaping out of the “C”/sea. However, I still think the hockey rink with the inverted stick looks the best of all the ones they've had over the years.)
 
So, up to the Cup! May the next few weeks be as exciting for the players and fans alike as the real NHL season unfolds. Unless, of course, your team is on the golf course.