MAKE HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA GREAT AGAIN

Four ideas to replace "Coach's Corner"

I’m not mad that Don Cherry was taken off the air.

He’s old. Old people are useless.

The circumstances that led to his dismissal were completely bogus but I’m over that too. The world is a rotten place. I’m at the acceptance stage.

What drives me bonkers is they replaced “Coach’s Corner” with literally nothing. Sportsnet treats the first period of Hockey Night in Canada the same as every other game they broadcast.

When I was a little kid Hockey Night in Canada was special. It was basically the only game during the week I was allowed to stay up and watch. A big part of that was my whole family loved watching “Coach’s Corner” after the first period. I believe this was a commonality among Canadian households because Cherry was on the air for 38 years!

My outrage is focussed on the fact that the folks over at Sportsnet didn’t care to replace “Coach’s Corner” with anything. Hockey Night in Canada is supposed to be special and having something interesting between periods is imperative for the viewing experience. My girlfriend has started making me mute the TV during first intermission because she “doesn’t want to listen to me complain.” Fair enough Sweet.

Here are four ideas for Sportsnet to try during first intermission on Hockey Night in Canada.

Kevin’s Korner with Kevin Bieksa

“Mr. Handsome” Kevin Bieksa is the best thing about the Sportsnet broadcast by leaps and bounds. He’s gorgeous, knows the game, and has an old school mentality that most fans relate with. Sure, there is a concern that he might be too good looking, but I think Sportsnet should be willing to take the risk.

Instead of having a panel discussion featuring Ron MaClean, that girl everyone hates, and my friend David Amber, I believe they could simplify the equation. They should recreate the exact format of “Coach’s Corner” with Bieksa as the focus and Mr. Amber as the host. This segment would absolutely rule, and Kevin Bieksa is a 10/10. So damn hot.

The Grump with Brian Burke

I know Brian Burke is currently the president of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but I’m not convinced that’s going to last much longer. His general manager Ron Hextall has never made a good move in his entire life and once the Penguins miss the playoffs there might be a huge shift amongst the organization.

Burke’s talents running an organization might be debatable, but there is no question he was extremely entertaining during his brief stint on Sportsnet from 2018 until 2021. The man is basically a living hockey encyclopedia. He’s worked in the league since the ‘80s and his jobs include:

• Player agent

• Director of hockey operations

• General Manager

• NHL executive Vice President

• Head of NHL player safety

I would be fascinated to see what he can do with 10 minutes of airtime every Saturday night. He is always opinionated and isn’t afraid to speak his mind. I think viewers would tune in to hear what Burke has to say.

GAMBLE GAMBLE GAMBLE GAMBLE… with Cabbie Richards

Here’s an idea that I think they will go for.

Sportsnet brings Cabbie on and he tells us about all the wonderful gambling opportunities available to us at DraftKings.

We learn about money line bets, point spreads, over/under, parlays, the benefits of drug use, teasers, props, middle bets, future bets, how to kill ourselves, live betting, points betting, and more.

Realistically, people only watch hockey because they want to gamble and hear about gambling. Gambling is good and we as a society need to finally embrace it. Stop reading this article right now and hit up one of the online blackjack tables available on FanDuel. It’s a great place to gamble. Tremendous.

Spittin’ Chiclets

They’re the best hockey podcast for a reason.

If Sportsnet signed a deal with Paul Bissonette, Ryan Whitney, and Rear Admiral they would immediately have a proven formula for an entertaining segment. Chiclets gets over 500K downloads per episode which is insane for a hockey podcast. They have an enormous following and it’s growing every week. Sportsnet should bring the Chiclets boys on every Saturday night for 10 minutes and have them analyze the game and talk about whatever else is going on around the NHL. The Canadian audience deserves it.

This is so obvious it hurts.

Do you have any better ideas? That’s great.

The worst ideas are no ideas, which is what Sportsnet has come up with thus far. The current HNIC broadcast is horrible and everyone agrees.