The Old Game Never Looked So ... Slow

I was minding my own business, trying to decide if now was a good time to dip into my leftovers file for some chicken wings when Kukla's Korner passed on this post from the desk/blog of Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals.

Seems as though Mr. Leonsis wants everybody to spend nine minutes of their lives going back in time to 1967, when there were few helmets, few goalie masks, few headshots, few hits from behind/boarding calls and a time when the skating could be described as, well, not so precise. Still, it was the best we had at the time and I, who was six when this season was underway, was more than happy to spend nine minutes or more just watching the game.

But what strikes me now is the free skate approach to the old game. Sure, some will spot a system in all this. But from this barstool, I see a lot of players trying to negotiate their own skating limitations, sometimes failing to get out of the way of a teammate.

The best moment of all in this short film is watching the rink crew cleanup winter snow gear from the ice after what I presume was fight. Was that Montreal, perhaps? Nice touch, regardless of the rink. Too bad Los Angeles was not in the league yet. Cheap flip-flops and vans on the ice would have been even more colorful.