BUBBLES FILLED WITH TOIL AND TROUBLE
Some familiar team issues resurface in new playoff format
Yeah, about that free pass …
We’re more than a month into this experiment of a POST-COVID Stanley Cup playoffs, one that included 24 teams, a round robin and a qualification round, all played within a couple of bubbles in front of no fans, and honestly I’m surprised at how good the hockey has been.
After four months off, where access to ice and exercise equipment was severely limited, I expected the worse: sloppy passes, soft goaltending and an intensity that was subdued — if not sterile — because of the empty buildings.
I expected to attach an asterisk to whoever won the Cup. I also expected excuses — and plenty of them — for the teams that failed. The bubble was essentially a judge-free zone.
A player didn’t have his best performance? Blame the time off. A coach looked lost or unprepared? Blame a truncated training camp. Team went out early? Blame the bubble.
And then Toronto and Edmonton both failed to advance past the qualification round, and no one was blaming the bubble. No one was making excuses. Rather, they were blaming the coaching, the power play, the lack of defence and the myriad other issues that had existed long before the coronavirus halted the season back in March.
It’s not exactly fair. At the same time, it’s also not surprising.
After all, these are not new problems.
The Maple Leafs’ early exit was their fourth straight year where they failed to win a round. As talented as Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl are, the Oilers stars still couldn’t win a round on their own. Turns out, Carolina’s James Reimer still can’t protect a three-goal lead.
Jim Rutherford, who was left “puzzled” with how easily Pittsburgh folded against Montreal, couldn’t have been that puzzled. A year earlier, the Penguins general manager was left with the same feeling after getting swept by the New York Islanders. Perhaps that was why he didn’t waste time in firing head coach Mike Sullivan’s assistants and is now threatening even bigger changes.
“You can make all the excuses you want,” said Rutherford, “but you can’t make those excuses when it happens two years in a row.”
That’s the thing about these playoffs. While this format is a one-off, it looks like we’re watching reruns.
Washington coach Todd Reirden, who couldn’t get the Capitals past the Hurricanes last year, couldn’t get his team past the Islanders this year. Bruins fans had already been questioning Tuukka Rask’s loyalty to the team. After he abruptly left the bubble to be with his family — a decision that no one should question — don’t expect his detractors to go away.
And then there’s Calgary. A year ago, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan didn’t show up in a first-round series against Colorado. This year, the pair combined for two goals and six points in a 4-2 series loss against Dallas, raising familiar questions as to whether they’re built for playoff success.
Some are now calling for Rask to be traded, for Reirden to be fired and for Calgary to re-examine its core. Others, however, are pleading for some perspective.
“It’s great that we’re playing and that we’re back, but it’s tough,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said after defeating the Flames. “That game was a mess for both sides. It’s tough to explain, but I don’t think people understand how tough it is living in this bubble.
“Give the league a lot of credit. They’ve done the best job they can. Everyone is handling it as best they can. But it’s tough. This bubble living is not what you think it is. Until you’re living it day to day, you don’t understand what everyone is going through.”
With that in mind, what do we make of the Canucks and Canadiens? If Toronto and Edmonton didn’t meet expectations; Vancouver and Montreal exceeded them.
Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson has shown a physical side that no one had expected. Montreal’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi has emerged as a future No. 1 centre. Both teams not only look like playoff contenders but legitimate Cup contenders.
Does that mean the Canucks have passed Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton as Canada’s No. 1 team? Does that mean the Canadiens are not as big of a mess as we thought going into the season?
Maybe. Or maybe, as Tampa Bay defenceman Victor Hedman said, it’s “a different scenario this year playing in the same rink with no fans.”
Maybe players, coaches and teams deserve a free pass. Maybe what we’re seeing this year has no bearing on what we’ll see when the 2020-21 season starts in December.
Then again, maybe these playoffs has exposed teams for what they are. Call it bubble hockey, if you want. Attach an asterisk, if you have to. But it’s still the playoffs. It still matters.
And because of that, the stakes — and the resulting expectations — have never been higher.