Wow!
I guess I kind of blew it in last week’s editorial. I should’ve known the Ottawa Senators would fold up like a house of cards once the National Hockey League playoffs arrived – but going out in four straight games against the Pittsburgh Penguins was still a bit of a shock.
In fact, by the time most of you read this on Tuesday morning, the possibility exists that there could be no Canadian teams left in this year’s hunt for the Stanley Cup. After shooting themselves in the foot, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves facing elimination against the Boston Bruins this Monday night while the Calgary Flames – who have made a great series out of their match-up against the San Jose Sharks, face the same fate on Tuesday night.
In a perfect world, a Canadiens-Flames final would be a great thing for all of us, but unfortunately this is far from a perfect world.
So rather than worrying and fretting and feeling sorry for millionaire hockey players who get bounced from the playoffs early and are forced to spend the summer on the decks of their multi-million dollar lakefront cabins, let’s have a look at some real hockey players.
Take those Bentley Generals for example.
If you were fortunate enough to catch the Allan Cup final on Saturday afternoon on the tube, you’ll already know that the Generals fell 3-1 to the host Brantford Blast in what turned out to be a very exciting game – at least in the third period.
If you saw the game, you couldn’t help but think that the Generals, and all the other teams in the Allan Cup final tournament, weren’t very far behind the NHL teams currently in their playoffs in terms of good, solid play.
But, of course, there is a huge difference and it all comes down to money.
Like the Senators, the Generals came up a bit short in the end, but unlike the Senators who get to lounge around the lake spending all those millions, for the Generals, the end of the hockey season means it’s back to work.
And therein lies the rub.
When it comes to amateur hockey there’s no signing bonuses – or at least not nearly as big; there’s no steak and lobster on the first-class flights back and forth to games and there’s certainly no seven-figure contracts handed out either.
Nope, there’s none of that. For the Generals and all other senior hockey players. In fact for most of those players, there’s nothing but a pair of work boots, some gloves and a lunch bucket and it’s back to punching a clock as a plumber, oil rigger or any other regular job that puts food on the table.
In fact, that is the fundamental basis of the Allan Cup.
If you saw the game, you are probably aware of how the Allan Cup came to be, but if you didn’t, here’s a bit of an explanation.
The trophy was donated by Sir Henry Montagu (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) Allan as a symbol of championship hockey among amateurs in 1908. At about the same time, old Lord Stanley also donated a cup to championship hockey teams but, as usual, money tainted things and in 1914, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was formed to separate the two.
Since that time several other minor changes have taken place, but the ideals of amateur hockey were never abandoned and the fight for the Allan Cup every spring is just as competitive as the fight for the Stanley Cup.
So as we progress further and further into this NHL playoff season with the hopes of an all-Canadian final between the Habs and the Flames, let’s all pause for a moment and raise a glass to toast old Sir Henry Allan, the players, management, coaches and fans of the Bentley Generals and all who toil in senior hockey for showing us their love of our game, whether they get rich at it or not.