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Garth McLennan

Editor in Chiet

esterday was trade deadline day
y in the NHL and that meant wall-
to-wall coverage by TSN, which
every year loses it’s mind over deadline
day and, led by Pierre McGuire, treats the
increasingly boring event like the second
coming of Jesus.

On a day which featured a grand total
of 16 trades of the mostly minor variety,
TSN provided viewers with a 10-hour
broadcast on the...uh...event, beginning
at 5 A.M. Now, there has to be a method to
the madness. Obviously there is an appetite
for the ceaseless coverage, because why
else would TSN continue with the same
tired, old format if it wasn’t working?

However, things are getting a little
ridiculous (well, they’ ve been ridiculous
for years now, but this deadline day really
set a new precedent). Even the most ardent
fan (a class I’ve always included myself in)
has to feel a little silly watching McGuire
almost wet himself after finding out that
Brett Carson was claimed off waivers by
the Calgary Flames.

As long as the sponsorship dollars
keep rolling in and the ratings remain
high, TSN will continue to pump out the
same mindless coverage year after year,
but can anyone logically believe that a day
which featured Dustin Penner being dealt
to Los Angeles as it’s biggest attraction
warrants complete and non-stop coverage?
The amount of hype that TSN devotes to
deadline day is just stupid.

Stop and think for a second what
deadline day would be like if TSN didn’t
spend every waking hour in the weeks

 

 

TSN getting totally ridiculous

leading up to it attempting to convince
you that the fortunes of every club in the
NHL hinge on what goes down. Would you
really care that that the New York Rangers,
uh, “bulked up” for the playoffs by picking
up someone named John Mitchell from —
Toronto for a seventh round draft pick? For
some reason I doubt it.

Sure, there were a few deals that

could be considered “big”. Penner going

to the Kings is a big story, and Washington
bolstering their forward corps by acquiring
Jason Arnott undoubtedly deserves some
coverage, but come on, ten hours? I don’t
thinkso.

The fact is, like it or not, deadline day
in the NHL just isn’t what is used to be
since the lockout. Consummating deals
today requires tremendous mixing and
matching with the salary cap involved;
even more so when superstars and large
contracts are part of the equation. When
you boil all that down, it really doesn’t
make for that interesting of a day, but TSN
charges ever onwards solely for financial
reasons.

You know that show you used to-watch
when it was good but now wish would just
end after having dragged on for far too long
(cough, cough...24...cough)? Well, that’s
what the TSN trade deadline show has
evolved into.

 

 

 

 

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