From a recent email
I have seen your video on the Blackhawks scandal a number of times and some good points were made about the culture of the Old boys club allowing a scandal to happen and how this is a black eye for the Blackhawks and NHL.
What I object to is scapegoating the Blackhawks as the entire fault to absolve the other 29 teams for their sins of the old boys network. Yes it’s a massive scandal but there are other teams who have some serious issues, maybe not as serious as the Beach Aldrich but serious nonetheless such as Anaheim and their GM.
As a former Chicagoan it hurt as this team was the best and most consistent winner since the Jordan era Bulls. This puts it in a much sadder and bleaker light.
Another thing, how come you and many people who cover the NHL always seem to let Gary Bettman go unscathed as if he is some sort of Demi god? He’s been the commissioner for nearly 30 years and he and his office bear some sort of responsibility for this scandal. Maybe he should be forced out after this year. A younger voice and face would be a good idea. He will be 70 in June.
One last point about hockey culture , which also applies to baseball, which is why they are way way behind the NBA and NFL in terms of popularity. Hockey and Baseball are too much about the team and not the individual. Yes it’s important to be team minded. Hockey and baseball go overboard with this mindset. They don’t market players in the nhl the way they do in the nba and nfl. Hockey sells teams like the Canadiens, the (cough cough Leafs) Oilers etc. The NBA and NFL sell stars like Giannis, LeBron, Stephen Curry . Kids buy those jerseys. They don’t buy mcdavid jerseys.
Thank you.
Josh
-- Joshua M Normand
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Joshua M Normand
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