Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.39

www.afootinthecrease.com

There’s something about winning the Stanley Cup. It has a dramatic effect on people, one that seems to impact people in different ways. For some, just like the commercial, it leaves them speechless, unable to reach even for a cliché as many players dole out like candy on Halloween night countless times during a season.

For others, it brings tears – and really, that’s okay as usually robotic interview subjects transform into real emotional people for a brief period of time after they’ve realized the magnitude of what they’ve just accomplished. But for some, winning the Stanley Cup seems to provide a license to say the stupidest things that could possibly come to mind.

Case in point, shortly after winning the Cup, the Blackhawks’ Adam Burish – a fourth line grinder at best who was a healthy scratch throughout most of the playoff run – launched into a tirade where he said and I quote, “I think Chris Pronger's the biggest idiot in the league. I can't stand the guy one bit. I hope I never have to see him again, and if I see him out there I might punch him.”

Well let me ask this, how many times did Burish see him during the Finals not counting the times he saw Pronger while wearing a suit sitting in the press box? Over the three games Burish did play during the Finals, he logged a grand total of 15:34 in ice time. Pronger plays that much in about a period and a half.

To Pronger’s credit, he didn’t miss the chance to respond two days later as the Flyers were cleaning out their lockers. When told of Burish’s comments and that he might punch him if he has the chance, Pronger, as he did all playoffs long, provided one more golden sound bite by saying, “Oh really? Where’s that, in the minors?”

If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it has to be don’t chirp Chris Pronger, especially if you struggle to stay in the league to begin with. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.