It's a common thread in a media world driven by the Internet and round-the-clock television news: 24 hours a day to fill, not nearly enough worthy material with which to fill it. The sports media is no exception, especially when there's a big event everyone is fixated on (SEE: Draft, NFL).But here's a note to journalists looking for angles to exploit in preparation of the NHL playoffs -- the Hurricanes' decision to call up Brandon Sutter, son of Devils coach Brent Sutter, from the AHL in advance of the two teams' first-round playoff series should not be one.
For one, Brandon has already played against the Devils this season, a game in which he had three shots on goal in just a hair under eight minutes of ice time. For another, Sutter will almost certainly not play at all in this series, unless some cataclysmic event takes place in which the Hurricanes' depth chart is ravaged by injuries.
The persistent writer might be asking him or herself, "But what about the Spygate factor? Maybe I can wring a column or two out of information sharing between father and son?" Besides the fact that that idea is, at face, ridiculous, Brent Sutter has already thrown water on the idea. Numerous times.
This is likely considered the least exciting first-round matchup, so I hate to douse something that might give it a bit of tabloidal intrigue. Then again, it might also be the most closely-contended series of the first round, and I'd rather read about the real on-the-ice stuff, the Xs and Os, instead of a reach for a story that doesn't quite exist.
