Happy Birthday to the Magic Man

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Cam

Thirty-five years ago, Pavel Datsyuk was gifted to this world.

Today is his birthday, which offers a well-timed opportunity to write and recall a few of the reasons he stands in rarefied air with Steve Yzerman, the only two men I would consider for favorite Red Wings of all-time.

Someday I will write about him in full, but for now here’s a few highlights, favorite plays, and memorable quotes from his interviews with Dmitry Chesnkov at Puck Daddy:

Might as well start with his dangles, dekes, plays, passes, speed, steals, and takeaways. I have never watched anyone more exciting play hockey than Pavel Datsyuk. I watch him every game, and I doubt anyone will ever surpass him. There are so many plays that he makes that never make the highlight reels, but here’s a few great ones that did.

He gives fantastic interviews, and he goes them regularly. Dmitry Chesnokov gets a hold of Pavel at least a couple times a year to post a Q&A with Datsyuk, and the ensuing writeup always yields a few gems.

Who is the toughest defenseman to play against in the NHL?

Once again, I really cannot name one. All of them are like an insurmountable wall to me! — February 2009, Pt. 1

What’s the best joke you’ve made, or heard, about Chris Chelios’ age?

I am trying to remember one right now. I don’t think it’s a joke, but Chelios missed the team meeting yesterday. Maybe he forgot. — February 2009, Pt. 2

For the second season in a row you are leading the league in “plus/minus…”

Are you my enemy? Did you call to jinx me? — April 2009

Where would it be possible to see a statue of Pavel Datsyuk?

“I don’t think you will see it anywhere. And if you do, it will probably be made of paper. Cardboard paper. I am a cardboard player.” — October 2011

Tell us more about your job at Tim Horton’s the other day.

“Well, next year maybe we will have a lockout. So, maybe I will have to work part time somewhere. I am trying to find myself, trying to find the best fit, the best profession for the lockout. It was important to get some experience. Some guys were finding themselves at tire places, and I always wanted to learn the back end of how coffee is prepared and served. — October 2011

If you had a chance to have dinner with any person you wish, who would it be and what would you talk about?

I would really want to have one more dinner with my parents. What would we talk about? It’s too difficult to say. I think we would just sit and look at each other. It would also be great to have dinner with Winston Churchill. I think he was a great speaker and I love his quotes. I think he would be a very interesting person to have a conversation with. — March 2012

Henrik Zetterberg was named team captain this season. How did he transition to being the captain?

“How? He cut out the letter “C” and stitched it on to his jersey, that’s how. — July 2013

(More Chesnokov interviews of Datsyuk on Puck Daddy: January 2010, March 2011, September 2011 (after the Lokomotiv plane crash), August 2011, May 2013)

Happy birthday, Pavel Datsyuk!

Ask Why I Tweet, not What I Tweet

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Cam

The digital clock below my speedometer reads 11:23. Its tiny orange lines stare back, motionless.

I press my foot down and hold it there, steady and heavy on the gas. I’m humming up the left lane of I-95: Sun glinting off the blue hood, heat waving up and over the short body of my Mini Cooper, cool air flushing through the A/C.

It’s Friday, Fourth of July weekend, and we’re headed up to Maine for a secluded stay on the beach with family. Secluded: I pause on the word, hoping Phippsburg has at least a shred of cell service.

I check the car’s digital clock again: 11:29. I can’t hold out any longer. I lean right, pull my phone from its pocket and hand it to Ellen, the heroine of this tale.

“Will you please check Twitter for me?”

Ellen taps in my annoyingly long password and opens the app.

“The Red Wings signed ‘DAlfredsson11’…do you know who that is?”

“WHAT?! They signed Daniel Alfredsson? Are you sure?”

She confirms, naming five, six, seven other credible sources. I push the Mini to 85 and let out a whooping screech, followed by a nerdy little fist pump.

And so the fun began. I gave in exactly thirty one minutes before the official start of hockey’s free-agent frenzy, and I blame Twitter.

The first news that reached me on that fun-tastic, Twitter-filled Friday.

There is a sizable stubborn cohort that says no to social media. No tweets, no Facebooking, and certainly no SnapChat.

Many do it for good reasons: the simplest of which is that they don’t want to spend their time that way. I respect that. This isn’t my diatribe about how everyone should be online — friending and posting and buying up domain names. I like people who value face time more than Facebook time.

No, it’s the group that smirks, the group that sniggers, the group that asks the same question whenever they find out about my social habits online — that’s the group that bugs me.

“So… What do you tweet about?”

I never know quite what to say, and that’s because it’s the wrong question.

“So…What do you tweet about?”

It’s the wrong question. The people that ask, they don’t get it. They don’t understand what Twitter offers, why it exists, why it is popular.

Twitter isn’t about me. I don’t tweet anything of particular importance. I’m not a visionary. My thoughts are not profound. Twitter is the community that I subscribe to; it is the river of information that flows precisely for me. I take and take and take and take and take — and then sometimes I give a little bit.

You know those moments when someone says something to you, something that just resonates? I feel that regularly on Twitter. There’s one right up there from @TheTripleDeke.

Without that group of Red Wings disciples, my hockey-watching experience is insane. Seriously. I sit by myself, yelling and screaming obscenities at tiny figures on the TV. I’m kiiind of a crazy person. But on Twitter, I’m in the trust tree — listening and hanging out with other people who throw shit all over the room when the Red Wings lose. It’s like I’m almost normal.

The best thing about Twitter? It doesn’t discriminate. If you like sports, bad TV shows, assholes on bad TV shows, news, celebrities, jokes — it’s all there. And most importantly, it’s all exactly what you choose.

Twitter feeds you stories you’d never see and offers access to people you’d never meet. In about 20 seconds on Twitter, I can find out what Malcolm Gladwell is thinking, what Charlie Pierce is writing, what Tim Tebow is praying, even what Alison Brie is wearing. Celebrities and professional athletes abound on Twitter. They talk to fans, share photos, hold contests and post the daily doldrums of their lives. It’s like having your own episode of Hollywood Insider every day, except they only talk about the people you care about. For Datsyukian fanboys like me around the world, that means I can come across photos of my favorite hockey player reeling in a big fish during the offseason.

Dangling extraordinaire @Datsyuk13 is enjoying his summer.

Twitter gives me ammunition for arguments (why Phil Mickelson won’t win the British Open this year), laughs to pass on (a Vine mashup of Peggy and Don Draper) and images or videos to spark conversation with friends (like the ridiculous chemical technology that is NeverWet).

Twitter directs me through the inane traffic of the Internet like a string of lucky just-green lights. When I have minutes to spare in my morning routine and want a smart article to read over breakfast, @FastCompany is there with a quick blog post.

When it’s Christmas in July and NHL players are signing with new teams in a free-agent frenzy and I’m up in the boondocks of Maine…Twitter changes everything. A swipe and a quick read is all I need to check every detail, every rumor and report, and see every quote from the ensuing conference call.

All of this — everything that I receive from this amazing community — is what compels me to give back with what little I have to offer. An interesting article here, a comment on breaking news there, even the occasional blog post. My thoughts and messages pool into a bigger conversation that friends, fans, anyone can subscribe to @CameronMKittle. This is why I tweet.

And that’s the right question.

Eight Years is Too Much Tuukka Time

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Cam

The Bruins signed Tuukka Rask today to an extension for eight years and $56 million.

To be sure, Tuukka’s earned it. He had a great season and led his team within the grasp of a championship. The Bruins made him prove his value with a one-year deal last year, and Tuukka responded with his career-best. But the team also has no viable option to fill his spot in net if they chose negotiation hardball, which tipped the leverage scale fully in Tuukka’s favor. It’s a spot in life that sports fans refer to as, “The Flacco.”

Signing him is smarter than letting him walk. Simply put, the Bruins had to pay Tuukka to remain a Cup contender. And that’s what they did.

But the deal is reminiscent of goaltenders past, and Bruins fans should be uneasy about this contract, especially when you look at the last five long-term contracts given to goaltenders.

2006: New York signs Rick DiPietro for 15 years and $67.5 million at age 24. Let’s get this one out of the way first, since it might be the worst contract in sports history. It’s not remotely a comparison to Tuukka’s deal, but you can’t bring up bad goalie contracts and start with anything but DiPietro. He played two seasons and 125 games after signing the deal before injuries ruined his career. He’s played 50 NHL games in the past five years.

2008: Pittsburgh signs Marc Andre-Fleury for 7 years and $35 million at age 23. This deal appeared perfect after the first year, when ~~Fleury helped the Penguins win a Stanley Cup~~ ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED ESPECIALLY NOT ANYTHING LIKE THIS OH GOD PLEASE MAKE THE BAD MAN STOP.

But more recently, Fleury has been a sad pillowy excuse for a goaltender. He completely shot down any chance the Penguins’ had in the playoffs last year by allowing 30 goals in six games, and then he blew up again this year against the Islanders, losing the starting job to Brent “Really? You seriously want me to play? I’m your best chance?” Johnson. Fleury’s contract is damning evidence that goalies deserve no more than five-year deals.

2010: Vancouver signs Roberto Luongo for 12 years and $64 million at age 31. Look, you don’t even sign a fucking accountant to a 12-year deal at age 31. This had bad idea written all over it. Again, no significant comparison to Tuukka’s deal but it’s worth sharing because Luongo also lost the starting job several years into the deal and basically became impossible to trade solely due to the contract.

2011: Philadelphia signs Ilya Bryzgalov for 9 years and $51 million at age 31. “Hey! Wait a minute! This looks a lot like the last guy’s contract…” Yeah, it’s a good thing teams learn from each other’s mistakes. Nope. The signing of Bryzgalov basically exploded the Flyers’ stacked roster of 2011 (Goodbye to Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, who reunited in LA to win a Cup..) and now the Mad Russian has already been bought out. Yikes.

2011: Nashville signs Pekka Rinne for 7 years and $49 million at age 29. This is the deal I would correlate most with Tuukka’s contract, although Rinne is a bit older (and a bit more proven with more than a couple Vezina-caliber full seasons at the point of signing). This year, Rinne’s first after signing the deal, he went 15-16-8. The Predators hope it’s an aberration, but history is not on their side.

I highlight these horrible contracts not to criticize Tuukka but to caution the Bruins. It’s too late, I know, but it’s clear to me that they should have fought harder to knock a few years off that deal, even if that meant more money and a higher cap hit.

Is Tuukka worth it right now? Absolutely. But trouble could be on the horizon, especially if the Bruins’ stockpile of goalie prospects matures quickly. With Malcolm Subban and Niklas Svedberg waiting a league below, it makes more sense to sign Tuukka for five years. That may never have been an option — or at least, not an option if they wanted Tuukka to stick around — but it feels like the Bruins didn’t try hard enough to make the smartest available move.

When Cameron Was In Egypt's Land

Monthly Archives: July 2013

Happy Birthday to the Magic Man

Eight Years is Too Much Tuukka Time