The Hockey Stop

Darren Pang is one of the most respected hockey analysts in the NHL. But his Freudian slip on TSN (thanks to the GetReal Hockey blog for catching this) when talking about the benching of Montreal Canadians defenseman P.K. Subban, who happens to be black, is sure to open up the question of race in professional hockey that has always simmered under the surface.

Basically, Pang said that Subban, whose freewheeling offensive style is apparently not to the liking of Habs coach Jacques Martin, should model himself after another young defenseman -- St. Louis Blues player Alex Pietrangelo, who happens to be white. Pang meant to say that Pietrangelo plays the "right way." But what he said instead was that he plays the "white way." Thus the Freudian slip.

Now, Pang is not a racist and later apologized for the unfortunate remark. But, as hockey becomes more diverse and reaches beyond Saskatchewan farm boys, the racial question is unavoidable.

As much as Don Cherry and others would like every player to have the personality and playing style of Joe Thornton, that just isn't going to happen. And nor should it. The many European players from Russia, Sweden and other countries bring their own unique style to the game. And there are an increasing number of African-American, African-Canadian, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Jewish and other non-WASP players in the league. And that is a great thing for the NHL because not only does it make it more diverse on the ice, but in the stands as well.

An example of the potential to bridge the racial divide in hockey is evident in the Atlanta Thrashers. The city of Atlanta has a large, educated and affluent black community, but many African-Americans traditionally have not embraced hockey because it is seen as a white sport played by mostly rural Canadians. But the Thrashers have a ton of black players -- Dustin Byfuglen, Evander Kane, Akim Aliu, Johnny Oduya, Sebastian Owuya and Nigel Dawes. That represents about 20% of the black players in the NHL. Hopefully that will translate to more fans in the seats at Phillips Arena. The fact that the Thrashers are surprising almost everyone by winning a lot of games so far this year should help as well.

While Pang didn't intend to, his comment will hopefully open up a much needed discussion on race in hockey. The trend towards diversity is a healthy one for hockey, and hopefully there will be a time when the benching of a player is only about his play on the ice, and not the color of his skin.

Here is the video:

Montreal Canadiens fan Ryan Stotland, 22, is bringing his Le Tricolore (3 Colors) jersey and his bike to South America on a 12,000 kilometre (7.5 thousand mile) journey to raise awareness and funds for two causes -- climate change and skin cancer.

His four-month, seven-country expedition, which has already raised over $110,000 and is currently rolling through Ecuador, has been recognized by the Habs in a video message endorsing his charitable efforts.

The Habs are making news themselves with the announcement today that the storied franchise's sale to the Molson family has been approved by the NHL Board of Governors.



The ownership change comes the same week Montreal celebrates its 100th anniversary, culminating with Friday's game against Boston at the Bell Centre.

Hopefully, Ryan will be able to watch his Habs celebrate their 100th season wherever he will be in South America.





Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has been suspended two games by the NHL for a knee-on-knee collision with Carolina's Tim Gleason during Monday's 3-2 Caps victory in Raleigh.

Ovechkin exited the ice with a sore knee following the hit and the MRI results have not yet been made available to the media so he is officially listed as day-to-day.

I attended the Caps-Sabres game at Verizon Center last week in which Ovechkin received a game misconduct and was ejected from the game after a hard check on Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta.

According to the NHL rulebook, a total of three game misconducts in the general category during the regular season results in an automatic one-game suspension. The general category includes charging (Buffalo game) and kneeing (Hurricanes game) so it wasn't a given that Ovie would have been suspended.

Here is the Game Misconduct rule:

23.1 Game Misconduct Penalty - A game misconduct penalty involves the suspension of a player or goalkeeper for the balance of the game but a substitute is permitted to replace immediately the player or goalkeeper so removed.

23.3 Fines and Suspensions – General Category - In regular League games, any player or goalkeeper who incurs a total of three (3) game misconduct penalties in the “General Category” and exclusive of other designated categories, shall be suspended for the next League game of his team. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game. For each suspension of a player or goalkeeper, his Club shall be fined one thousand dollars ($1,000).

OTHER NEWS:

• New Jersey Devils radio color analyst Sherry Ross made history last Wednesday by becoming the first woman to provide play-by-play of an entire NHL game in English.

• The NHL Network is currently previewing on The Dish Network. It is available to basic cable subscribers on channel 403, but not in HD. The promising network provides nightly highlights, live look-ins, full game broadcasts and expert analysis.

• Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, the longtime former home of the city's NHL team, is being renovated after 10 years of neglect. The $57 million facelift will transform the historic arena, which opened in 1931, into a retail and recreation complex.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin nabbed two ESPY Awards nominations for Best Play and Best NHL Player. The nominations come as no surprise to hockey fans who have watched the Russian contortionist-on-ice score goals that would make even the The Flying Karamazov Brothers drop whatever they were juggling to drop their jaws.

However, some discerning fans might take issue with the play chosen. Ovechkin's goal against the Rangers was no doubt amazing -- he turned three New York defenders into human practice cones as he stick-handled around the helpless Blueshirts en-route to stuffing it past a stunned Henrik Lundqvist and into the back of the net. That the goal took place in the playoffs makes it even more special.

But in my mind Ovechkin's regular season goal against Montreal was even more spectacular and should have been chosen as the Best Play. While the Habs were moving the puck out of their zone and into the neutral zone, Ovechkin took advantage of a quick line change, raced across the ice, bounced the puck off the boards to himself, charged towards the Montreal net while being chased and eventually pulled down by a late-arriving defender, then while sliding on the side of his back he somehow kept control of the puck and somehow found an opening to shoot the puck past the goalie.

Here are the two plays. You decide:

Nominated goal against Rangers:



Montreal goal:



The ESPY Awards will be broadcast Sunday, July 19 at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PST) on ESPN. The winners are determined by fan vote. To cast your ballot go to ESPYS.tv.