This
year’s NHL trade deadline day is March 2nd, and unlike the trade deadline day
in the NBA, NFL and MLB, hockey’s version provides fans a reason to call in
sick. While it doesn’t receive nearly as much coverage in the United States as
it probably should, trade deadline day is like Christmas in March for hockey
fans in Canada. Although the introduction of a hard salary cap following the
2012-2013 lockout makes it harder for big and complex contracts to be moved on
the last day trades can be made, there seems to be no sign of the television
ratings or the transactions slowing down any time soon.
Perhaps the biggest reason for that is that die hard sports fans dream of being their favourite team’s general manager
someday, and trade deadline coverage gives us some insight into what it’s
actually like without ever being in our team’s boardroom as the deadline
approaches. Especially in this day and age with the latest breaking news being
posted on Twitter almost immediately, allowing fans to keep track of rumours
and break into debates in an instant. Debate fuels adrenaline in the average
sports fan more than anything else.
The curiosity and intrigue also stems from
what one’s favourite team will do next. Are they buyers or are they sellers?
Will they be the big winner in this year’s blockbuster deal for the latest
disgruntled or impending free-agent superstar? With questions like that left to
be answered as the deadline approaches, it’s easy to see why the media coverage
associated with it is basically a man’s version of an afternoon soap opera with
the added kick being that it’s actually based on reality and not a dramatic,
fictional script.
It seems that no matter what prognosticators
and analysts predict as far as how much activity is expected on trade deadline
day, things pick up at the last minute and when all the math is done, hundreds
of millions of dollars in contracts have changed hands and the future of a fan’s
favourite franchise has been changed forever, though seldom in the ways that
most experts and fans expected once a few months or even a few years have
passed.
For every
skilled superstar winger like Marian Gaborik that gets traded on deadline day
and helps his new team win the Stanley Cup, the way he did last year with the
Los Angeles Kings, there are a handful of stars that get moved and never
produce a championship. That reality might not be appealing to fans of
contenders, but at the end of the day it’s what makes the trade deadline such a
big day for the NHL and so compelling to follow.
The good news is, whether your favourite
players and teams are contenders or pretenders this year, you’ll be able to
sport their new jersey after all the trades are complete thanks to the gear
available here at Sports Jerseys Canada.
Labels: Jack Choros