Each week here at ProHockeyTalk, NHL on NBC’s Mike Milbury gives us his take on three hot topics of discussion around the league. We’re happy to have Mike join us and give us his unique and fiery opinions on what’s going on in the NHL.
Some Leafs players were upset by Carolina’s Tim Gleason squaring off with non-fighter Nikolai Kulemin. What’s your take on that fight?
I thought Kulemin pushed Gleason and Gleason pushed him back. There’s no sign anywhere that says you can’t fight a European. You know, he pushed him several times and I don’t blame him at all for fighting him. I thought it was a well deserved slap in the head. If you don’t want to fight then do what the animals square off in the forest: Avert your eyes, don’t look at him. You put yourself in that position you deserve to get whacked.
I will say this though. Ron Wilson says he put himself in the position to get whacked and he got whacked. Why would he say that? That’s how I feel and I think he’s right, but I’m tired of hearing him throw his own guys under the bus. He does that way too often for my liking. He can be a terrific coach but it looks like he’s had his fill of it. It’s disappointing when you see a guy do that to the player.
I think everybody should be really careful any time around with concussions. It’s not just because of the original problem and now this is a follow up to that. Maybe it’s a separate incident this time, but nobody knows. I think they’re going to give him plenty of time and he’s gone home early to hang out and I’m glad they’ve done that.
He can get out of the view of everyone and not sit around and answer questions like “How you feeling, how you doing” and nobody’s going to mess with him once he’s home. It’s just a matter of time and evaluation and some people here have suggested they shut him down for the year but I’m not going to play doctor and pretend to get inside Marc Savard’s head.
Closing it out with a light question: Wayne Gretzky turned 50 and aside from that making us feel a bit older, is Gretzky the greatest player of all time?
Wow jeez, it’s his birthday. You don’t want me to give him an un-present. He’s amongst the top four or five greatest players ever. You can make a case, obviously, with statistics he’s the greatest player ever. Those things differ generation to generation but there isn’t any question that he’s one of the greatest players and the greatest business assets the NHL’s ever had.
I think it’s a shame it ended so badly in Phoenix for him and the league. I think that fence needs to be mended. If I gave him a birthday present it’d be to give him a position in the league or with an organization that reflects the status and respect that he has so richly earned.