Of Moose and Men

Sorry... It's my first day back at work in the Library after the holiday break, I had to go with a lame literary reference.

Anyway, Mathieu has reported to the Manitoba Moose and will probably play as soon as the game on Friday.

See the story from the Winnipeg Free Press: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/NHL-vet-all-smiles-at-Moose-presser-80629837.html

Cynics say he did so because if he hadn't, he wouldn't be able to collect $250,000 for the Canucks as part of his signing bonus. But really, I think that is a bit of a stretch. When it comes to a pro athlete at this point in his career, what's money?

And Mathieu was his usual smiling self at the press conference. Hearing what he's saying and how he is saying it, I am doubting the stories coming out of Vancouver a bit. It seemed so out of character, and he's so in character right now. Maybe the truth was stretched just a tad to switch the onus of a bad situation onto the guy who isn't part of the team anymore? (Namely, the more I hear, the more I hear that the coach isn't exactly Prince Charming. And he's not very good coach, either, but I digress...). In the end, only those involved know the whole story and he did the right thing. He says he just wants to play and is anxious to get ice time. Time to move on.

Here is some audio where to says that retirement wasn't really considered. Many point being:

"I feel too good... honestly, I feel as good as I've felt in years... I didn't feel anywhere near thinking about retirement."