The story of a gamer
In sports, there’s something I like to call a “gamer”. If you follow baseball, you saw one of my personal favorites, CC Sabathia, pitching complete games on three days rest. If you follow the NBA, you see a guy like Tim Duncan won has already won a few championshis. The NFL has “gamers” like Tom Brady (that being said, ***** Tom Brady). Well, the NHL has a lot of gamers. Hockey players are a special breed. But once in a while, comes along a player that you can envision winning several titles. The sort of guys who play on dynasty teams. The guts and glory guys we won’t shut the ***** up about 50 years from now.
You know I love to string people along, make them thing I’m talking about one guy, and shift it over. If you read my articles, you know I do it a lot. By now you may be assuming I’m talking about Mike Richards. Yeah, Richards is a good player. He’s a smart player, and a great leader. But I’m talking about a different Flyer actually.
Simon Gagne.
Twice in his career, Gagne has suffered injuries that made us wonder if he’d ever play again. The Flyers sniper is on pace for 55 goals, 110 points, after a year where concussions rattled him. This guy is unbelievable.
Generally, every year, I make a Hart trophy pick. You know how I love a guts and glory kinda guy. I generally pick someone off the board. In 2006, you may remember I lobbed for Scott Niedermayer (no formal article was posted, though). In 2007, I was shocked about the support my Brind’Amour for Hart idea got. 2008, the Hart trophy winner was undeiable. Alexander Ovechkin had to win it. Going back to when I decided I was old enough, and watched enough to make an informed Hart trophy pick (don’t forget I’m only 16), I have made my Hart trophy picks Jarome Iginla in both 2002 and 2004, Peter Forsberg in 2003, Scott Niedermayer in 2006, Rod Brind’Amour in 2007, and Alexander Ovechkin in 2008.
My off the board pick this year? Well, if I had to say today, I really don’t care who the leaders in points are. No one in the game has impressed me the way Simon Gagne has. Gagne leads the league in shorthanded points, he’s third among NHL regulars in points per game, and I doubt Alexander Semin is going to hold up.
I know, I know, I’ll get 50 people telling me “we’re only a quarter of the way through! Don’t decide too fast”. Well, listen, if I change my mind, I’ll post so in April. Gagne has been the best player in the league so far, and I wish him the best of luck.
If the Flyers go deep in the next few years, Gagne is a part of it. Yankee fans in baseball whine because their current team of stars doesn’t have the guts of Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, or the 1990’s Yankees. Fans of big money teams not named the Detroit Red Wings or Colorado Avalanche always wondered how their overpayed superstars didn’t produce like the ones in Detroit or Denver. It’s a thing called “guts”. Guts win championships. Simon Gagne is a GAMER. He’s the sort of guy who wins Conn Smythe trophies.
And you all thought I hated the French guys…