We turned to THE reference on the subject, François Martindale, former head of ice for the Canadiens and the Kings. The quality of the rink has always been an issue, he recalls, pointing out that in 1910, matches were segmented into three 20-minute periods, rather than two 30-minute periods, in order to allow for additional resurfacing. It was in 2013 that maintenance as we see it today was standardized. One of the annexes to the collective agreement signed in 2013 describes the task book on this subject. Clubs must have teams of at least eight attendants, equipped with 48-inch-wide shovels, who jump onto the ice during the three commercial breaks scheduled during each period. “When I started, we just did it along the boards, in front of the benches and around the net,” Martindale remembers. Then, we went from the red line to the top of the faceoff circles, then to the blue line. And then we made the entire ice cream. The goal is for the puck not to be slowed down by the snow. » Some teams, like the Canadian, take the opportunity to add sponsorships, on the uniforms of the attendants or even on the shovels. “But not in Los Angeles, we wanted it clean,” Mr. Martindale explains. But it was never a goal of the NHL to make it a publicity opportunity. It was for the quality of the game.”
It is enough to attend a match in person to understand that the columnists – a very general term which erases the nuances – are not the only ones to promote this action. A shot blocked with authority always provokes strong reactions from the players’ bench. This validation probably plays a lot more role than that of the columnists. Furthermore, in the specific case of Montreal, Martin St-Louis played for a long time under the orders of John Tortorella, who attached high importance to blocked shots. The Canadian head coach also seems to appreciate these gestures.
In writing, we have absolutely no rules on the issue. The fact remains that these names enter the public imagination and that “the roof of the Bell Center exploded” is quite a bit more evocative than “the roof of the Canadian’s home exploded.” As for television, Bell Media owns RDS and TSN. It would be unusual if descriptors began to avoid naming the CH amphitheater by its official name.
First, congratulations on your race. It’s impressive. According to World Masters Athletics, the under-85 world record belongs to Japan’s Yoko Nakano, who ran the distance in 27:38. For men, the mark was set by Fokke Kramer, in 23:51
It is difficult to comment on the specific case of Arber Xhekaj, because we do not know precisely the operation he underwent. American researchers studied the journey of 29 NHL hockey players who underwent shoulder labrum repair, between 2004 and 2020. They then compared the data with a group of 55 players who had not undergone surgery, and published the results in Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. All 29 players returned to play. Their offensive production tended to decline upon return, then return closer to pre-op standards after three seasons. On the other hand, their careers turned out to be shorter than those of non-operated players.
