Post by Jack Bauer on Apr 19, 2021 13:24:18 GMT -4
I doubt very much that one single Maritime team opted in for that purpose. They opted in because they wanted to give their livlihood the best effort possible in the face of adversity from the owners on down to the coaching staffs to the players. They wanted to play - period.
Raimu's post about the successes of the Islanders' team building and the progress made by their players show that there was much to be gained by playing.
The alternative was no Q Maritimes hockey, and forever wondering what if - had they given it a shot.
A lot of people had big dollars invested and were willing to take the risks of losing their shirts - but they still lined up to play at every opportunity. When things were temporarily shut down - the hope was always to get back playing again, and these are the people with the biggest stakes in it. Who are we as fans to blame them for doing so?
The players and coaching staffs wanted to play - 100 percent.
Trying to blame a death in Quebec as possibly being the result of Q game spread is more than a stretch. It's a pathetic way to try to gain support for your own beliefs that there shouldn't have been Q hockey at all. It's like saying there shouldn't have been shopping or religious services allowed. People were aware of the risks, and they were aware of those calculated risks. When you choose to attend a game in a Q work bubble - that's on you. Even if the death was attributed to a Q game, which is only speculation at best, the percentages were miniscule - probably in the 0.0001 (less than one in ten thousand) range.
I think having QMJHL Maritimes hockey was a great diversion. It was like a war time thing that allowed people to escape the daily grind of Covid, Trump, mass shootings and BLM. Playing in groups of three teams wasn't ideal, but it was better than only practicing. Players definitely gained a lot from the disciplines of schedules, team travel, personal schedules, team bonding, learning from mistakes, and feisty and highly competitive play that can't be replicated in practices.
I read everybody's opinions and and try to understand their logic, but all things being considered, I think the decision to play was the right one. There was much more gained in playing than in not playing.
Locally, the Mooseheads developed their kids. The Islanders established their program as being amongst the league's best.
The Sea Dogs learned that there is much more to it than landing a bunch of top rated talent and expecting an automatic three year dynasty. The Titan rose from the ashes and developed kids like MacArthur and Arsenault.
The Eagles learned to better respect their followers. The Wildcats gained by losing less from last year's trades. There's much more to it than that, but just meaning to show that there was more to it than being limited to playing in three team bubbles and the other negatives being floated around.
Yes - the Q teams got a million each - but I far preferred what we had in the Maritimes over the season they had. I don't see any of those teams finishing with a windfall.
A league champion - a Maritime champion - asterisks - whatever, it really doesn't make a lot of difference. They played as much and as often as they could and they practiced and developed players. Anything from here on in is gravy.
My own personal opinion is that yes, I most certainly do think that there is reason to celebrate that our Maritime franchises opted in. There will be a lot of fundraising ahead, but in my opinion, every Maritime franchise is to be commended.
Despite what many might think, I would guess that had the OHL teams been given the same choices as our Maritime teams had this season - to play - or not to play with no government help - they would have lined up to opt in to the tune of 100 percent.
For those who are glad that our teams took part and benefited from seeing the effort and growth of their programs, their players and staffs and their volunteers - don't allow the vocal minority to shame you for enjoying the game and the competition.
People who don't get their way or force their ideals on everybody else always make the most noise.
No offense meant to anybody. I respect everybody's right to their own opinions and the ability to share them on this forum. However, I'm not ashamed to be happy that they played. I think they weighed the options and they made the best decisions for their programs.
Whether I'm in the minority or not - I think that in the best interests of their players and supporters, that they made the best choice by trying to play as often as they possibly could.
Hopefully my post is in an acceptable thread. If not, I hope an admin will move it to a more suitable thread.
A small minority seem to have viewed this as any sort of success.
The what if's are still there just in different forms. What if teams had a normal season to even play regionally would the results have been any different? Would Charlottetown still look so unstoppable? Will playing the season like they did result in significant financial issues for any franchises? Did playing actually turn off a percentage of hardcore fans from coming back?
People have been questioning the what if's this entire way. Seeing people potentially passing away due to spread happening because of these efforts is exactly the kind of hindsight we do with every tragedy to see if it could have been avoided.
Teams played the season because they had no choice. As much as we'd love to think it was for the players development or for the fans or for it to be an outlet away from the pandemic the fact is that the Maritime teams followed the lead presented by league leadership. For the most part the deep pocketed owners are out nothing, so there's that plus. But not all teams are likely in that boat.
We'll see in a few years if it was really worth it. It's impossible to really say when the season isnt over and you need hindsight to see how things unfold in the years to come. As much as we'd like to say it's one way or the other....we'll know for sure in a few years.
