Ashley Messier builds hockey legacy with sights on PWHL, Olympics
1h ago
Mark Messier is her distant cousin, but this Sask. hockey product is carving her own path.
The best thing about the end of the NHL season isn’t necessarily the playoffs.
The best thing is watching the non-playoff teams bring their general managers out of hibernation for their annual end-of-the-season media conferences. Most GMs spend the regular season avoiding the media, but once the season ends they have to face the music.
In Montreal, Marc Bergevin wouldn’t admit his Canadiens don’t have enough talent to compete. In Ottawa, Pierre Dorion said Senators head coach Guy Boucher has to change some things. In Calgary, Brad Treliving was dismayed with the lack of emotion during the Flames’ late-season nosedive. In Vancouver, Jim Benning preached patience while his Canucks mature. In Edmonton, Peter Chiarelli promised an evaluation and denied his slow Oilers team was, indeed, slow.
GMs are sometimes fired after missing the playoffs, so in the scramble to keep their jobs they often sacrifice coaches or make drastic personnel changes. If that happens, the GMs come out again to meet the media. Stay tuned.