Training camp has been on for nine days already — nine long days. And while wins and losses don’t count, and shouldn’t be counted, there’s a part of me that wants camp done and the regular season starting as soon as possible.
Perhaps it’s my desire to watch games that matter. After all, both the CFL and the NFL are playing important games, and so is Major League Baseball. NHL pre-season games (or are they called exhibition games? I’m not sure) are tough to watch with players who might not see the light of the NHL this season.
But beyond that, I am just not sure if the games need to be played at all. The players are in great shape, the teams have already decided who will fill out the roster, and who for salary cap reasons, will be sent to the AHL.
And I can’t believe I’m really saying this, I would rather see coaches work with players on special teams and systems than play unimportant games. And the biggest reason is injuries. The Jets are already nursing injuries to Mason Appleton, Cole Perfetti, Nate Schmidt, Nikolaj Ehlers and more.
We’ve seen around the league, big stars now facing rehab already, like Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy out for two months. I don’t know if you saw Vegas’ Mark Stone take a vicious, unnecessary hit on Wednesday night … and boy, was it a great hit. I can only wonder what McPhee, McCrimmon and Cassidy were thinking when their captain went down. It really was pointless in so many ways.
The preseason is a necessary evil for every team in the NHL. Coaches and GMs still have almost two more weeks just hoping to stay healthy before hockey that matters really begins.
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