Mathieu's take on the NHLPA and head injuries

Mathieu was thrown into the mix quickly in his new job. A week or so in, and he's already facing the CBC cameras to share the NHLPA's take on the renewed interest in head injuries in the NHL.

Here is the video of his interview with Elliotte Friedman: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/CBC%27s_Hockey_Night_in_Canada/Inside_Hockey/1239560253/ID=1839605580

Some choice quotes, culled from various places because I'm a crappy transcriber:

• "I think the players' biggest complaint would be consistency. You want to see, I think, penalties kinda across the board for whatever type of player is being disciplined." (from Montreal Gazette)

• "The one thing that (the Chara hit on Pacioretty has) done, it's certainly brought a lot of attention to the fact that we need to look at certain changes in our game and that conversation and that process has begun." (from Montreal Gazette)

• "The biggest difference, and again this is what we're hearing back from the guys, is that the guys are bigger, stronger, faster. Maybe it's calling the rules that are in place now differently. Allowing for more holdups, more interference. I don't want to see things like hooking creep back into our game, but maybe we can have more picks. To slow the game down, as much as a lot of people might not want to do it, that could be the right thing to do at this point." (from Montreal Gazette)

• "You get the general feeling guys seem to think that there hasn't been anything malicious. The main difference now is you have guys who are 6-4, 6-5, 230 pounds, moving at high speeds. That's when you're going to get big collisions. (from the Sporting News)

Despite my weak skills, here is one I did transcribe myself, because I didn't see it elsewhere, and I thought it was an important one. 

• "I would like to see a coach, a trainer, a general manager, look at each situation, and treat it as though 'what would I do if this was my son.' Even if you were able to sit on the bench and say 'I'm fine, I'm fine, I can go right back out,' which I have, and I know a lot of players have, that's just the way things were... knowing what we know today I would feel very uncomfortable to let a teammate or myself or a friend go back out on the ice in those situations"

I was disappointed that I missed seeing one the greatest players in the game play when I was in Pittsburgh; I was also disappointed that a week later, my favorite player still playing missed a game in San Jose because of lingering effects of taking a lazy elbow to the jaw. But my cold heart smiles because those fleeting disappointments mean that those men, and those men's families and teams, have gotten over the "be a tough guy" stuff and recognized the seriousness of their injuries and the need to take a lot of time to heal the most important part of their bodies. That gives me great joy.

But boy is there a loooong way to go still. From the NHL dismissing the Chara/Pacioretty incident as a "hockey play," to the "Big Hits" highlights shown during TV timeouts in arenas (half of which show hits to the head), the "head shot" debate is going no where as long as there are still those who don't recognize the lifelong, life altering effects of traumatic brain injuries, and the role we each play in making sure we don't have a part in inflicting that on a fellow human being in the name of entertainment.

Twitter battle royales

A couple of days ago, the one, the only Brad Richards joined Twitter, seemingly with the sole intention of chirping back and forth with teammate Krys Barch. Their interactions are quickly approaching Logan Couture and Devin Setoguchi levels of teammate awesomeness.

You'd think tonight's return of Alex Ovechkin, who resurrected his own Twitter account, dead for 2 years (or since the Caps PR guy stopped ghost tweeting for him), would be the Twitter moment of the night.

Nope. Even B-Rad's self-deprecating, preemptive big teeth joke doesn't qualify. Rather, longtime NHL Twitter star and superstar bench warmer Paul Bissonnette again holds the honor with this picture posted from a dinner out with some Coyote teammates at Katsuya in LA.

Barch served it up, and B-Rad returned fire. A BizNasty chirp? Ball's in your court, Mathieu "Schnieder."


P.S. Brad joined Twitter. Enrico Ciccone has been on for awhile. Two out of three of my guys. Tick tock Mathieu. I'll offer lessons! ;)

P.S.S. Oh, and for what it's worth, I have a BizNasty claim to fame. I was his "hero" for finding him the ugliest PT Cruiser ever in the parking lot at work: http://twitter.com/#!/BizNasty2point0/status/24993344641. I might put that Tweet in my promotion dossier along with recommendation letters from faculty and a dean.

Getting some props

Yesterday, Mike Cammalleri gave Mathieu a bit of a shout out via his Twitter account:

In English and French, oooo fancy. I'll even ignore the spelling error.

That's not the only place he was getting mentioned in positive ways be former colleagues. Craig Conroy recently retired from the NHL as a member of the Calgary Flames. Reflecting on his career, he offered this bit about his first training camp after being drafted by the Canadiens:

"The one guy that helped me the most would be Mathieu Schneider. I mean, he was a guy that I knew even before I got there; our dads are good friends and I know his brother really well. So I think coming in, he was the one guy that kind of brought me along, made me feel comfortable and really took care of me. It's weird, with all those good guys on that team, and everyone was great to me, but I thought Schneider really helped me. (from the article posted by the Montreal Gazette)

It's nice that all these years later, he is still remembered fondly for helping out the younger player (even if, in this case, Conroy isn't that much younger). It is something that I've heard said about him many times over.

[by the way, special thanks to longtime blog reader REK for prompting me to get off my butt and post this story]

Official announcement of the new job

The official announcmenet of Mathieu's new job from the NHLPA is posted on the associations website: NHLPA.com

Says Mathieu:

"Now that my playing career is over, I’m very excited to have the opportunity to continue to work on behalf of the players. I plan on drawing from my own understanding of the NHLPA and the game to help ensure that the players are educated on all matters relating to the Association and the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

I guess that's his official retirement announcement, too.

I'm biased of course, but I think this is a very smart appointment. Mathieu knows his stuff about the league, and is respected by his player colleagues.

Still number one in my heart, and in stats for now

I work at a college that has a 4-1-4 schedule. That is, in Fall and Spring semesters, students take 4 classes, and they take a single class in that weird month between. As a student, I liked JanTerm. It was intense fitting a semester into 4 weeks, but the course offerings were interesting and not the standard Fall or Spring semester classes.

Now as a I librarian here, I'm not a huge fan. It is regular school, so we offer full services. But half the students are on travel courses abroad, and the other half have very little research or hardcore studying to do. Thus, my Monday night shift at the Reference Desk is D-E-A-D.

I've caught up on professional readings. I've written a book review for a scholarly journal. I've gotten my in-box to almost 0 (it feels weird to be empty, so I always leave a few). What else is there to do?

.....

This is a screen shot of wallpaper on my phone.

It is one of my favorite pictures. Though I'm not a fan of having a Red Wing jersey on my phone, it is the one photo I've seen of my two guys together. It's symbolic, too. Mathieu up front, B-Rad (close) behind.

A few weeks ago, I reminisced about Mathieu's 200th career NHL goal. The impetus of that was Brad Richards having scored his 200th career goal. Obviously, being a forward, it is expected that B-Rad will have higher offensive totals that Mathieu., though he has yet to over take Mathieu's totals. As of this moment, head-to-head, Mathieu still leads in all statistical categories.

Not for long, though.

At his current offensive production pace, B-Rad will surpass Mathieu's career goal total (223) in 31 more games, assist total (520) in 58 more games, and overall NHL career point total (743) in 49 more games.

Not sure if I should break out champagne for that, or huddle in a corner and cry.

But Mathieu can be assured he will never give up the lead to B-Rad in at least one statistical category: penalty minutes.  With 173 PIMs under his belt (or, an average of .23 minute per game), B-Rad would have to go full Enrico Ciccone for a few years to best Mathieu's 1,245 career minutes in the box.

Despite it all, that photo, a snapshot frozen in time, says what my heart knows. Mathieu is always first.

A new job?

Do not adjust your dials. This is not a test. There is actual Mathieu news to report. With the hiring of Donald Fehr as the NHLPA's new executive director, a lot of talk has gone into who will be his staff. One of the hiring committee members is getting some buzz as a possible person Fehr will tap:

"I know Mathieu reasonably well at this point, I've talked to him any number of times and he seems to me to be a first-rate and extraordinary individual. He certainly has an enormous amount of experience in the game and as far as I can tell has the respect of the players. He's the kind of individual that makes sense for that kind of a role. I'm not in a position today to discuss any specific hires or roles that any given individual might fill." (as reported by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com)

Still not sure if that will happen, but keep your eyes posted. I've long thought that if Mathieu said in hockey after his playing days ended, I see in more of an "office job" than coaching or scouting. Seems like it might be something he is interested in, so we'll just have to see if it does happen.

On 200 goals

Let's reminisce. March 6, 2007. A lovely spring day in Detroit. (Maybe? I don't know, and I'm too lazy to go back and check the weather reports).

At 12:55 of the second period, the Red Wings break the 2-2 tie, and with assists from Robert Lang and Jiri Hudler, Mathieu Schneider scores his 200th career NHL goal. It's before the video embedding days, but there is a (grainy) video of the goal available on the game summary page: http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2006020996.

Here is the post from this site commemorating the event (posted the following day), complete with quotes goodness:

March 7, 2007

Last night, after his milestone goal #200, Mathieu returned to the bench to be congratulated by his teammate. He was warmly greeted by Niklas Lidstrom, who scored his 200th just days earlier: "I got back to the bench and he said, 'Welcome to the club,' kid. He and I had a friendly bet with Langer at the beginning of the year; one of us wanted to beat Langer to 200, but he killed us, he got there way before both of us." Wait... "kid"? Isn't Lidstrom the kid compared to Mathieu? And more quotes post-game from Mathieu: "It's a special goal, obviously. I've been fortunate to be here on a great team, with great players, to have that opportunity. It's awful tough scoring those goals when you're on other teams. It's been a really good ride for me here in Detroit."

Mathieu had special reasons to score his 200th goal early in the game; his father-in-law sent him a cellphone message: "Get your 200th goal early because I have to watch 'House.'"

Finally, here is a clip for the scrapbook:

Schneider was the team's offensive hero in regulation, registering a goal and an assist. His goal came on a 1980s style rush up the ice. Schneider looked like he was Paul Coffey as he found a seam in the defense and jetted up the ice to score on a high wrist shot for the 200th goal of his carer. Robert Lang fed him the home run pass, but Schneider said it was Kyle Calder who created the play by getting out of the zone quickly to attract a defenseman. (from Kevin Allen of USA Today)

Ahhhh, the good old days. Despite the fact he was wearing that uniform, that video made me smile from ear to ear. I remember listening to the game via the Internet and I hopped out of my seat and squealed.

Of course, there had to be a reason this comes into my head today. A reason enough to actually get together a blog post. B-Rad scored his 200th career NHL goal last night. No end to end rush; no cutting through defensemen like a knife through butter, a la Mathieu Schneider. It was kind of a weird one. No one was sure it was actually a goal or not.

But it was:



And he was happy*:



Congrats Brad Richards. Now, only 23 more goals before you catch up to Mathieu Schneider. =)

*Yes, that's happy for him.

A new season begins. A new chapter?

The hockey season has started and life feels whole again. But a little hole is missing from my whole. No Mathieu. =( There have been plenty of seasons that began without Mathieu in the line-up: there were injuries, and that one contract issue. But never in my 17+ years of hockey fandom has an NHL season begun without Mathieu at all. I guess I knew this day was coming, but it still stings.

Now if you need me, I'll be in the corner hugging me knees, rocking, softly weeping to myself.


But wait.... what is that? Is there something to take my mind of the fading into oblivion of my favorite player of all time? Well, not really.

But it's a nice distraction.

Look who popped up as a banner cover boy. (click to enlarge for full fabulousness)

And I know it's only 2 games into the season, but ladies and gentlemen, your NHL scoring leader is...

Not sure if the last name or the goal totals bumps him down to 3rd place

But honestly, it feels kind of shallow. I've been following Brad Richards since about 1999-2000, and always knew that one day he'd carry the coveted title of Sarah's Favorite Current NHL Player¹, it just seems to fast. I mean, after 17+ years of fandom and Mathieu's career being barely cold and I'm moving on already?² It feels so... so... so shallow.

Well, while I'm feeling shallow, might as well go all out....

WOOOOOOOO!!!

------------------------------
¹ Really, I hear rookies get in fights every year, battling it out who gets to be my favorite.

² No, I'm not moving on. I'm just bored and wanted to post something.

It's fall

Yup, it is that time of year again. Kids are settled back in school. The nights are coming earlier. The leaves are falling of the trees. Pumpkins are in the grocery stores. It was warm, then it got cool, then it got hot again (that's typical for us in the Bay Area). And I just saw a WalMart Christmas commercial on TV.

Oh yeah, and hockey is starting.

Will Mathieu be starting hockey anywhere? Well, I just don't know. I haven't posted anything here not because I abandon the site, but because there has been nothing to report. Mathieu didn't attend any training camps. He didn't announce retirement. Didn't even hear any European league rumors.  All I know is Mathieu has continued to work with the NHLPA. That's the only time I see his name.

I'll keep my eyes and ears open for anything.

P.S. I did draft him in my fantasy hockey league. I couldn't not. Even if he does retire, The Fighting Lobsters will proudly hold a place on the bench in Mathieu's honor.

Another year?

Oh, and how 'bout this snipet buried in one of the articles reporting on the head shots rule:

"Schneider, a soon-to-be free agent who intends to play again next season, is one of five players on the committee this year." (from the Globe and Mail)

Hmmmm.... not sure about my feelings on that. On one hand, if he still wants to play and feels he can still keep up, good on him. And I do kind of want my farewell tour. On the other hand, really? What are the Vegas odds on another year being like last year. Or the year before. I don't know if that could end well.

Competition Committee has a say on head shots

Some actual, real news that is semi-Mathieu related. He's still on the NHLPA's "competition committee" and they met this past weekend to work on some rule stuff. One of the key areas was the "hits to the head" issue.

The Slapshot blog over at the New York Times redeemed itself from the numerous times of confusing Mike Richards and Brad Richards, and had some video of Mathieu's post meeting comments. Check them out.  (Most amazing part of the video? There are pay phones behind him. They still exist!)

Some key quotes from Mathieu on the issue:

• “Gratuitous headshots are going to be eliminated." (via Elliotte Friedman's Twitter) from the game.

• "We don't want to take the physical play out of the game but we want to keep the players safe. That's the main goal and what our main message has been all along." (from Winnipeg Free Press)

The following, snagged from the Toronto Sun report, is really what it is all about. (At least, in my opinion. And apparently the NHLPA Competition Committee's opinion):

"After watching hundreds of hits, there still has to be a certain amount of onus on the player that he has a responsibility to keep his head up, to know where he is on the ice. You don’t want to take that part out of the game.  Certain hits that we watched, players were, for lack of a better term, stupid. They put themselves in a vulnerable position. We want to keep that physical play in there. You have to be aware when you’re coming through centre ice, you’re not looking back for a pass, the old sucker pass, and coming down on Chris Pronger. You have to be aware out there, that’s part of the game.”  (Toronto Star)

Amen brother! Amen! Black and white doesn't work. The world is gray. This is not an easy thing to solve, but a good start in solving it is not being a) stupid, and b) mean.  Players need to keep their heads up, and they also need to let up on unsuspecting players. Have some basic respect for the fellow human you are playing a game with. (I talked more about it in a previous post; having experience with head injuries following my sister's accident, this is an issue very close to my heart)

Another quote I thought was key was answering to the old dinosaurs who say a rule will "change the game."

"I think things have happened since the lockout, since the rule changes, that were probably unforeseen. That has made it necessary to change certain rules. The game is much faster, the collisions are taking place at higher speeds." (from the Canadian Press, via CTV.ca)

The game has already been changed, and that has put players in a danger that didn't exist in the same way before.

Happy 41st Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATHIEU!
I went back into the archives and pulled up an old birthday tribute. Here is the one done June 12, 2000 in honor of Mathieu's 31st birthday. 


The following is a list of important and noteworthy events that took place on the day of Mathiue’s birth, throughout recent history. The links connect you to more information or interesting tidbits regarding the events. (Note: I added two from last year, because, well, why not?  Also last year on Mathieu's 40th birthday, my eldest nephew graduated from high school. YAY Tim!)

• 304 years before Mathieus birth, in 1665, English rename New Amsterdam, New York, after Dutch pull out
• 278 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1691, Innocent XII succeeds Alexander VIII as Pope
• 193 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1776, Virginia adopts Declaration of Rights
• 177 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1792, George Vancouver discovers site of Vancouver, BC
• 157 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1812, Napoleon invades Russia
• 130 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1839, 1st baseball game played in America
• 120 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1849, Gas mask patented by Lewis Haslett (Louisville Ky)
• 110 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1859, Comstock Silver Lode in Nevada discovered
• 89 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1880, 1st baseball perfect game-John Richmond of Worcester beats Cleveland's Forest City, 1-0
• 72 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1897, Possibly most severe quake in history strikes Assam India, shock waves felt over an area size of Europe (negligible death toll)
• 66 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1903, Niagara Falls, Ontario incorporated as a city
• 46 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1923, Harry Houdini frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above ground in NYC
• 38 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1931, Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition & perjury
• 34 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1935, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana spoke continually for 15 hours, Senate's longest speech on record (150,000 words)
• 30 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1939, Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown NY
• 27 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1942, Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present (Amsterdam)
• 15 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1954, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," is originally released
• 7 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1962, 3 convicts used spoons to dig their way out of Alcatraz
• 5 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1964, Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa
• 4 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1965, Big Bang theory of creation of universe is supported by announcement
• 2 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1967, Israel wins 6 day war
• 2 years before Mathieu's birth, in 1967, Supreme Court unanimously ends laws against interracial marriages
• On Mathieu's 12 birthday, in 1981, "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" starring Harrison Ford premieres, the first in the Indiana Jones series
• On Mathieu's 22 birthday, in 1991, Boris Yelstin elected president of Russian Federation
• On Mathieu's 28 birthday, in 1997, 1st ever baseball inter-league game SF Giants beat Texas Rangers 4-3

• On Mathieu's 40 birthday, in 2009, massive civil unrest breaks out in Iran following controversial results of a national election, and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh game

Well, that was quick

I think the lag between meaningful posts here lately have been longer than Mathieu's tenure with the Phoenix Coyotes. In not a huge surprise, the Coyotes announced they would not be offering him a contract for next year. So says the Arizona Republic. Well, then, ok.

I can't even think of a title for this post

So the dreaded Red Wings ousted the Coyotes last night, most likely ending Mathieu's NHL career. And forcing upon me one more series of Red Wing hockey that I have to watch (since now they play my Sharks). 

Really, this is all I come up with right now:

Some words from Mathieu

Game 7's are always do or die, and for Mathieu that means even more. This could be his last NHL game. And if it is, it will be a painful lose. Says he of game 7 situations:

"The main thing to keep in mind is that this is most fun that you can have in hockey. Sometimes being a little naïve is better. I think everyone on the team is looking forward to it. Anything can happen in Game 7. I played in Detroit … there's pressure to win every night, every series. It's definitely a much different feeling being on the other side than it is being in this dressing room. It can be a good thing to be the underdog. Going back to Montreal, the year we won the Cup (1993), we were underdogs. It definitely takes some of the pressure off, but at the same time, you've got to get out there and play the game. Once the puck's dropped, it's anybody's ballgame." (from NHL.com)

P.S. If the Coyotes lose to the Red Wings tonight, don't expect a recap for a couple of days. I'll be too busy drowning in my own vomit and tears to comment.

Shirtless Mathieu interview

Really, the headline says it all. Seventeen years of fandom, and I've never been gifted with a shirtless Mathieu interview... until now.

April 25, 2010

I felt kind of bad. Today could have been Mathieu's last game, but I had a lot of stuff to do in my last full day in Edmonton. I caught a bit of the score while checking out the stuff at Pro Hockey Life (wow, if the exchange rate wasn't so crappy, the taxes so high, and the limit of luggage space so small, I'd have gone broke in that place!). I thought it said that Mathieu had scored, and it was on the back of my mind all day.  Finally, after a long day of taking in sights and hiking around Elk Island National Park, I got back to the hotel and, ta da!, Mathieu did score!



And the Coyotes won, pushing the series to a deciding game 7. Woo!!

Mathieu even made it to the front page of ESPN.com!

Thanks for the screen capture Spencer!

Game summary: Schneider (Stempniak, Pyatt), 2:27 of 2nd (PP).

He plays

Can't go too into detail as the game is still going on and I'm out of sorts after a day of traveling. (Heeelllllloooo Edmonton!)

Anyway, with the Coyotes power play sagging, and Shane Doan still out, Mathieu started the game tonight. Says he: "This is the most exciting time of the year. For me, to be a part of it now makes it certainly special. To jump in a series four games in is going to be fun, something that I've never really done in my career." (from NHL.com)


So far, he's looked pretty good. His minutes have been pretty limited, and he's been kind of a specialty player.


P.S. Darren Pang loves Mathieu. I'm watching the game on TSN, and every chance he gets, he praises Mathieu. Woooo!!!


Update: The Coyotes ended up losing the game 4-1. Boo. Mathieu played a total of 16:33 (9:22 of that on the power play), and ended even and with one shot.

On chiropractoric care

Here's something a little random from the Windsor Star: Mathieu is a big fan of Windsor area chiropractor, Steve Radovich.

"I wish I'd found him earlier in my career because I think I would've avoided a couple of surgeries. I don't know if I'd still be playing the last couple of years without him. I know I would be playing through pain and injuries.  He's absolutely saved me from some injuries and extended my career."

I've heard conflicting things about chiropractors. If they can do what proponents say, I really should try it. But I'm a chicken. It took me 25+ years to get up the nerve to get a massage. And damn, those are nice. I'd get those more often, but I'm even more cheap than chicken.

(note: the article was there, then gone, then back again. Hope its stays now)

Some quotes

Sorry. I should update. It's just hard to get into it when a) Mathieu isn't even playing, and b) I'm busy choking back the puke from having to deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

Anyway, I'm taking the lazy way out, and giving some links and quotes.

About what you need to win in the playoffs: "It's not a secret the formula for success: goaltending and special teams. That being said, I think there are definitely areas where we can get better. We don't want to put them on the power play as much as we did (in game one). Momentum changes in a series shift to shift and game to game, and you just have to be sharp every opportunity you get on the ice." (Arizona Republic)

About playing on the oft-dismissed Arizona hockey team: "It's pretty amazing, over the year, how they've changed the attitude of hockey in Phoenix. Being here, you can see why." (Detroit Free Press)

About his career beyond this year: "The last five or six years of my career, I've said it before, have been the most fun time of my career. Even though I've bounced around a little bit this year, my kids enjoy watching me still."  (Detroit Free Press) 

Sorry, I can't do much more than. Too much Detroit press in my news feed. I feel the blood rushing to my face and the barf building in my throat. If you want, just go to the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News sites and you can read all of their cherry picked quotes of Mathieu gushing over how great the Wings are. Now if you excuse me, I need to shower.