Key Wings have spent all season hobbling off the ice to the trainer's room and their record reflects it, but it's not like the league can just plug in another time. It's a regular season game and it counts in the standings.
When I first found out I was going I was stoked, but I couldn't help but think it was gonna be the Grand Rapids Griffins getting to play for the varsity under the glare of the big network lights.
Amazingly, barring any recurrence of injury during tonight's game in Nashville, Detroit will have the "Kapten", Datsyuk, Helm, and DeKeyser.
To make the event more festive (that's Latin for "create more revenue") the league is staging a pair of "Alumni Showdowns" on New Year's Eve afternoon. Baseball used to call these same contests "old timer's games", but mercifully they amend that in hockey, because tons of these guys are younger than me.
Interestingly, but not unexpectedly, the Lemmy of Hockey Coaches, Scotty Bowman, will be on hand even though he left the organ-eye-zation to help his son construct a Stanley Cup Champion in some other midwestern town with tall buildings and overrated bands.
But a very visible member of the glory years will not be in attendance: Trainer and puck bunny heartthrob John Wharton did not receive an invitation.
I do not know the reason or reasons John Wharton and the Detroit Red Wings had a disagreement that led to the end of his employment with them. Trust me, I could. At the risk of Jay Pharaoh mocking me on Saturday Night Live, I know John Wharton. And I don't know why he isn't invited.
You couldn't find your ass to shove your head in it if you don't think a trainer is a crucial component of any hockey team, and to nurse and identify and rehab injuries through a 98 plus game Cup winning campaign is like writing a symphony on a xylophone with a pixie stick. Announcers might refer to the work of a trainer as an "intangible", but it's damn well tangible and is not undervalued in an NHL dressing room.
So why isn't he invited? You don't know, do you ? And what, exactly, does that mean ? It means he didn't do anything to embarrass the Wings, the Ilitch family or the City of Detroit. So why isn't he invited ?
I do know it is something he feels bad about, but I still feel bad about tracking dog shit into the house three weeks ago. I'm still welcome here.
Even though I like John Wharton and I think he's a good guy, as a fan I might not want him back if he had gone to the then-division rival Hackhawks or the Nashville Mr. Underwoods or the Columbus G.E.D's…every time the Wings lost to those guys, you might think he coughed up a secret or two. Even were that the case, you'd probably think, "thanks for the hard work so we could get drunk on Woodward and whip Red and White confetti around like schoolchildren, welcome home for an afternoon."
The fact is, John Wharton stayed in town and has done plenty of positive things for this community since the mystery incident.
Read my little missive about Mike Vick from yesterday. That guy not only got a second chance, he got a 7 figure a year paycheck to go with it. I know whatever John Wharton did, drowning dogs was not involved.
John Wharton has written letters to the Wings acknowledging his role in whatever led to he and the team parting ways. According to John, they did not respond to his letters. Someone who has helped the corporation for which they were employed achieve the pinnacle of success in their field deserves better than that, at the very, very least.
We found out who the Watergate Deep Throat was, I'm pretty sure we can find out what John Wharton did to piss off the pizza baron and his underlings.
And when we do, I think it's going to be so minor in the scheme of things that the organ-eye-zation is gonna be more embarrassed about their treatment of their legendary trainer than anything he did to precipitate his dismissal, and ultimately his exclusion from what is supposed to be a celebration of the championship legacy that he was an integral part of.
Great post, I do not know John personally, but as a Wings fan, I know who he is and his great contribution to the Wings success. Just wondered if there is a follow up post that could delve into why John isn't on one of the other NHL training staffs. Does he chose to stay in Detroit, or is it more. Not trying to start conspiracy theories, but he has the cred's.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work, look forward to your posts.
I could ask John myself, but I'm almost positive his answer would be that he had business opportunities here that didn't demand all the travel. He wanted to (and did) spend more time with his kids by not latching on with another team. And he was very loyal and close with the guys on the Wings, and had some level of involvement with Konstantinov's rehabilitation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. Some of them might be NSFW, but more often than not they'll be entertaining (I hope).