“I don’t blame the Europeans for going to play in Europe,” Don Cherry tweeted a few days ago, “but you millionaires you’re supposed to be a union. Stay together and fight the good fight on this side of the ocean instead of going over and taking jobs from some poor guy trying to make a living.”
The Canadian hockey icon continued this argument on Wednesday:
Please forgive me if I seem bitter about millionaires going overseas to take jobs away. But now one of the players is saying he’s doing it..
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) September 26, 2012
To feed his family. Now you’re just trying to insult our intelligence
— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) September 26, 2012
Cherry’s stance on locked-out North Americans should surprise no one familiar with his point of view (a group that includes every Canadian with access to a television set), but leave it to Mike Weber – a 24-year-old Pittsburgh native with 132 NHL games under his belt – to respond.
According to capgeek.com, the Buffalo Sabres defenceman made $900,000 in 2011-12 and would be paid $1 million in 2012-13, the final year of his two-year deal.
@coachscornercbcI have a ton of respect for you Don but not all of us NHLers are millionaires and you can’t play this game forever
— Mike Weber (@Mike6Weber) September 26, 2012
Sick save by HC Dinamo Minsk’s Lars Haugen (KHL):
Safe at home, Jaromir Jagr is owning the Czech Extraliga’s Kladno, both literally and figuratively. The veteran forward now has eight points in four games playing for the team he bought, a club that’s getting a silly boost from the Montreal Canadiens’ Tomas Plekanec (11 points in four games) and the New Jersey Devils’ Marek Zidlicky (three points in four games).
Another ridiculous Kladno show: Plekanec, 3+1, Jagr 1+3, Tlusty 0+3, Zidlicky 1+0, Kaberle 0+1 in 6-3 win over Hemsky’s (0+1) Pardubice.
— Matias Strozyk (@MaStrozyk) September 26, 2012
The duo of Rick Nash and Joe Thornton continue to shine for HC Davos. The Rangers’ new prize, Nash, had a mellow four points in his debut (a hat trick plus a helper). And in Game 2 on Wednesday, Thornton scored the shootout winner for Davos. The stars’ adopted Swiss A club is undefeated since re-signing Nash and Thornton.
Watch the highlights here.
Highlights from Cali-Slovenian Anze Kopitar’s four-point debut in Sweden (via Slovenian newscast):
Alex Semin is enjoying the kind of warm welcome that has eluded him on this side of the pond:
Semin’s signing with hometown VHL team leads to huge commotion at local arena box office, team imposes max 10 tickets per person purchase
— Igor Kleyner (@IgorKleyner) September 26, 2012
Today I was with Semin in his school, at first rink (under construction), yard of childhood. I saw he is absolutely happy in Krasnoyarsk!
— Pavel Lysenkov (@plysenkov) September 27, 2012
And Tyler Seguin is just getting his legs back:
Hardest practice I’ve had in a while. No training camp, Olympic ice, cool drills, skilled players. Happy to be here. Still miss Boston too
— Tyler Seguin (@tylerseguin92) September 27, 2012