NHL Franchise Boys

Movember is the month-long effort to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues by growing fabulous facial hair throughout November.  Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller may have just raised the bar not only for Movember in the NHL, but for goalie masks as well. Instead of his black-matted mask, he’ll be wearing a white-matted mask with black-and-white images of his teammates rocking sublime and ridiculous fake mustaches, created by the artist. It features Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, George Parros, Dan Ellis and many other teammates.

That’s Hiller on the back of the mask, with his own airbrushed mustache and incredibly goofy expression, looking like a hockey card from the 1920s.

Boston Bruins netminder, and mustachioed man himself, Tim Thomas introducing his own mask to spread the word about Movember. Note the mustache on the bear…. nice touch!

 There’s a newly created Facebook page titled “FIRE Jacques Martin”. It features the Canadiens coach dressed as a McDonald’s employee.  There was a time when Martin was being chatted up as a coaching genius… that was two seasons ago when his defensive system along with Jaroslav Halak’s clutch goaltending produced a nice postseason run.

So what’s gone wrong? Is it really time to send Jacques Martin to the fry station?  The biggest difference is behind the bench.  Jacques Martin lost his deputy, Kirk Muller, who was clearly the players guy. He helped run special teams, he communicated between the coaching staff and the team, he was a key cog in the wheel, and we’re missing him right now. Players seem to be unaware of their role on the team. Line combinations are sometimes changed after every shift… centers play wing, defenseman play forward. It’s not a chess match. In the mind of the coach, he is playing checkers with equal, interchangeable pieces. There has been no opportunity for chemistry to develop and the result is confusion and chaos.  It’s clear Jacques Martin is no master. Hey Jacques, do some research and repeat this over and over… “Would you like an apple pie with that?“