Ice Cold Takes: Connor McDavid shines through Peter Chiarelli’s dark, gloomy shadow

Ice Cold Takes is a weekly hockey column covering what is trending around the NHL. The official hockey column of 2019.

Hopefully, everyone had a nice holiday. Being back at work but still not knowing the day is always fun. Most of us are probably still in vacation mode, dragging yourself to work instead of watching hockey and football on TV all day, but here we are.

January is also time for new year’s resolutions. Here are some of the ones overheard from around the NHL this week:

• Peter Chiarelli is entering the new year hell-bent on destroying Connor McDavid and what’s left of the Edmonton Oilers
• Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin promised to not be terrible in 2019
• Charlie Coyle wants to make new friends (This is a real one)
• Gary Bettman has vowed to make every regular season game an outdoor Winter Classic by the time his evil reign is over
• Toronto media’s resolution is to make Mitch Marner a boatload of money (and subsequently lose Mitch Marner to a team that will be able to pay him said money)

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NHL All-Star Game rosters

On Tuesday, the rosters for the upcoming NHL All-Star Game were announced. From the looks of it, each team is going to be very fun to watch. The case can be made for any team to win, but the Pacific Division team is likely going to be the most fun to watch.

Connor McDavid, Johnny Hockey and Elias Pettersson. That’s a fast, fun group of players. They are probably best equipped on the defensive end as well, with Burns, Karlsson and Doughty being the only 3-D line up of the four divisions.

One downside to the rosters is that Gritty wasn’t added to the Metro Division team. His elite checking ability and lack of caring will be missed from what is likely the weakest squad of the four. He’ll definitely be there, though, in some form.

The Atlantic team is also very dangerous, boasting the best of Tampa Bay and Toronto plus Jack Eichel and David Pastrnak. Again, any of these teams can win but what’s most important is that everyone is represented equally. Let’s hope all of the players have fun.

Sidney Crosby

Acknowledging a good chirp by cracking a smile or having a laugh is the appropriate way to handle being heckled. Turning the heckler into a life-long fan by giving him something he will never forget is the ultimate response.

Sidney Crosby, one of the best players to ever play the game of hockey, has heard it from everyone. He’s widely hated by any opposing fan base in his division (and by many others who have likely lost important games against him). He’s chirped at every game he goes to, so he can appreciate quality trash talk when he hears it.

This is a power move. At worst, this guy now has to have a mutually respectful relationship with Sid. He’s a Rangers fan, and respecting a division rival in the Metro isn’t an easy task. But alas, Sid has come out victorious and this guy will now be forced to be awkwardly nice about Crosby for the rest of his career.

A Philly fan would have broken the stick and tossed it onto the ice.

Connor McDavid

It’s been a while since we heard from hockey’s younger prodigal son, so let’s see what McJesus is up to these days…

Wait. What? How? It’s such a shame that Edmonton has this type of once-in-a-generation player but have to live under Peter Chiarelli’s rule at the same time. If you think Chiarelli has his wits about him, let’s quickly remind you that he doesn’t.

On Tuesday, Chiarelli traded for Brandon Manning. The same Brandon Manning who was responsible for breaking Connor McDavid’s collarbone in 2015. You can’t make this stuff up. Regardless of how McDavid and the other players are handling it, the entire fanbase hates Manning. It’s not like he is some game-changing talent, so why make the move in the first place?

If Edmonton were a city of dogs, Chiarelli would be that one rich family dog that isn’t trained and takes huge dumps all over your yard instead of his own. You can’t blame the dog because he can’t comprehend things like basic decency. You can blame the owners, though, for letting him get away with being a complete idiot. Poor Oilers fans.

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Canadian hockey fans

The World Junior hockey championship is a huge deal in Canada. Most Canadians grew up watching the championship with their friends and family throughout the holidays and into early January. Most of us still hold on to that tradition. Canada has a history of excellence in the tournament, especially when it’s on home soil.

Last night, our beloved Team Canada lost in the quarterfinals to a strong Finland team. This marks the first time Canada won’t medal when hosting the tournament. It was a tough loss in a game that could have gone either way, but here are some things to be happy about.

• An increased talent level across the world is good for hockey, which, in turn, is good for Canada
• There will be increased pressure on next year’s team to get the job done, so book a flight to the Czech Republic because we’re definitely going to win
• I’m only putting the third point here to make the bullet points look worthwhile

It was a tough loss, but Canadians can go back to cheering for their favorite NHL teams now, most of which are doing well. And hey, we’re still Olympic champions (No, the last Olympics do not count).

Canadians. Let’s cheer for our neighbors to the south, shall we? If Russia wins, we all lose and no one will be watching the final. At least the USA vs. Finland final will make hockey Twitter fun for a couple of hours. Sorry Switzerland…

Hot Dogs 

Our boy Phil Kessel won Pittsburgh Penguin fans free Big Macs after scoring the first goal of a game last month. In probably the least shocking news out of the NHL this year, Wes Crosby reported that Kessel seemed “interested” when he heard the announcement over the P.A. If the Penguins win the Stanley Cup again with Kessel on the roster, McDonald’s will likely get some love on Kessel’s Cup day.

T.J. Oshie 

If you were asked which NHL player you think would take a simple pre-game joke a little too far, your answer would likely be Tom Wilson. You would be right.

What was supposed to be a simple little cup check turned into a bit more than a love tap from Wilson, who had some fun with Capitals teammate and beer-chugger, T.J. Oshie. This ended up being the dirtiest Tom Wilson hit this month, which is good because only mini-Oshie ended up with a concussion.

Until next week, keep your head up (especially around Tom Wilson)