Saturday, September 13, 2008

Bill Daly calls Sugden

The groundswell of support for Brandon Sugden has made an impact. NHL No. 2 Bill Daly called Sugden yesterday, told him he was aware of his story and that he'd contact the teams blocking him from attending Islanders camp. Read more about it from Joe Warmington in today's Toronto Sun.

Daly did not make any promises and did not share his opinion on what he thinks should happen. But by having the grace to get involved and at least listen to Sugden, Daly is proving why he deserves to be the next commissioner in the NHL. Of course, Daly doesn't call Sugden without the green light from Gary Bettman, so the current commissioner deserves credit here, too.

Fans and bloggers (led by Lindsay Kramer in Syracuse) spread the word about Sugden, but let's face it: it's not big news in the NHL until it reaches Toronto. For that we have to acknowledge Darren Dreger of TSN and Leafs Lunch, who's become the Peter Gammons and Peter King of hockey in Canada.

Still not sure where this is headed. Still don't have reason to be overly optimistic for the enforcer. But this is a start. The plane leaves Long Island for Moncton on Friday.

2 comments:

7th Woman said...

five days is enough time to make it work ... if they want to.

Anonymous said...

Good to hear, hope it keeps moving

It's funny, though.. knowing the type of player he is, if I saw him playing in the preseason or early regular season, I would just shake my head.
I'm not at all a fan of a roster spot being used for a designated enforcer.. but in this case that doesn't matter to me.