NHL Nhl Media Watch

The NHL has always been at the forefront of the major American sports leagues when it comes to the internet. The league streams most of its games online through its GameCenter Live application and has openly embraced bloggers and websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Given all of that, maybe it's no coincidence that an internet savvy sports fan has chosen these same websites with which to embark on an NHL social media experiment.

NEW YORK -- As Alex Ovechkin takes the pregame warmup at Madison Square Garden, an hour before scoring in his return game -- a Capitals' 4-2 win -- Rangers fans in blue and white jerseys stand 10-deep behind the glass. In a rarity for this most vocal of fanbases, hardly anyone makes a sound. They mostly just stand and watch and appreciate. Ovechkin is back after a two-week injury and he seems to have been missed not just by Capitals fans.

Bob Hoch attempts to focus on Ovechkin with the Canon 200 he's taken out of his jacket pocket. Hoch has been a Rangers season ticket-holder for five years, but he's an unabashed Ovechkin true believer. "I love Ovechkin and hate Sidney Crosby," Hoch says, as if there has to be a choice. "They're both incredible hockey players, but Crosby takes dives and avoids contact at all times and Ovie is old school. He's the guy you'd kill to have on your team."

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

Earlier today, a group of local sports fans led a petition for originality from sports media humorists*. Standing outside a local bar the group spoke to reporters with local citizen Michael Davidson representing the group, which was composed of about 10 18-to-35-year-old males and females. The group of fans say that they are "upset" and "distraught" by blogs, websites and sports media who continue to make the same joke about hockey each year.

Don't blame the Calgary Flames for swiping swine flu shots for their players, coaches, staff members and their families. Blame the culture of celebrity. Since most hockey players are big stars north of the border, blame Canada. Blame Alberta Health Services, the agency responsible.

But don't get all high and mighty about the Flames getting vaccinated while thousands of Alberta residents waited all day or were turned away at clinics throughout the province. The hockey team did not ask for preferential treatment. They only asked for treatment. Why a squad from Alberta Health provided the Flames with their own clinic is something the agency will have to explain. One suggestion for the investigators: start with the team's head physician. Those docs tend to be deeply connected.

The National Hockey League Players Association has denied various reports on Friday that it has ceased operations. The union released this statement at 4:00 p.m. ET: "The NHLPA staff continues to work very hard on behalf of the players in all areas of the Association's business and will continue to do so going forward."

The NHLPA did confirm that interim executive director Ian Penny (pictured right) is no longer associated with the union. From the statement: "Ian Penny informed the NHLPA staff and the NHLPA Executive Board earlier today that it is his position he has been constructively dismissed as Interim Executive Director of the NHLPA and can no longer work in the present circumstances. Effective today, Ian Penny is no longer employed by the NHLPA." In other words, get ready for another round of "I was fired," "No, you quit."

Have I lost you yet? About ready to check out Kevin Schultz's list of the top five NHL coaches on the hot seat? Don't blame you one bit.

Doesn't that sound like a juicy headline?

It probably does and has probably left you wondering who it was taking on the Toronto coach. Was it Joe Thornton? Maybe Evgeni Nabokov or Olaf Kolzig? Well, the answer is none of the above. The former player who laid into Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson on TSN's Off the Record this week was Jim Thomson.

If you just said 'who?' you're not alone.

Of all the cities in the hockey world, no town's media may be quite as big or as hard on the folks it covers than the one in Toronto. The Toronto Maple Leafs are covered from every angle -- two or three times over -- and every year it seems the Leafs are going to trade for every star player in the NHL. Add to that a very fine microscope that is placed on the players and employees in the organization and, well, we get one of the toughest places to play in the NHL in terms of media attention.

But today, I'd like to take a moment to credit the Toronto Star for taking the time to laugh at itself and the team in a good, ease the pain, therapeutic kind of way after the Leafs' 0-6-1 start to the season.

Georges Laraque recently appeared in an online commercial for an alcohol-infused energy drink, violating NHL policy. On Tuesday, he apologized for breaking the league rule. He has not stopped apologizing since. He really needs to stop.

The phoniness of our major professional sports leagues is boundless.

Laraque is one of the league's top fighters and a popular player for the storied Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens play in a hockey palace currently called the Bell Centre, formerly known as the Molson Centre. Back then, you couldn't go anywhere in the rink without a beer logo in sight.

When was the last time that the evening Sportscenter (I'm not talking about Sportscentre, mind you) led off with a teaser about something that happened in the hockey world?

That's a rhetorical question, since I'd have to do a lot of digging through a lot of film that I don't have access to to find the answer. Maybe it was when the Penguins skated the Cup around Detroit after winning Game 7. Or it could be further back, when Chris Simon stomped on Jarkko Ruutu, possibly?

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. This is the first edition. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

There are a lot of issues facing the NHL. We can argue about the NHL's policy on hits to the head till we're blue in the face, or we can debate the shootout all night. Then there's the situation in Phoenix and the Versus/DirecTV squabble. Sure, all of that is very important. But there's no bigger issue in the NHL today than the biting epidemic. The league must act swiftly to ensure the hands of our favorite stars stay intact and not in the mouths of other players.