"Winning for Roger"

When you are down 3-1 against the New Jersey Devils you might as well start planning your summer of golfing. However that is simply not the case this post season. The hockey Gods seem to be sending a message this season. Just look at the final four. The Mighty Ducks the long ridiculed franchise named after a Disney film trilogy. The Ottawa Senators who were so broke that they couldn’t pay their own players earlier this season. The New Jersey Devils a team that prides itself on having players checking their egos at the door and the Minnesota Wild a third year team no expected could make it to the final four let alone come back from 3-1 deficits in back to back playoff match ups.

If the Senators do win the series and go on to win the cup, a few nights ago will be story told by generation to generation. Assistant Coach Roger Nelison who is suffering from two forms of cancer came down into the locker room and made an inspirational speech. It clearly worked. They managed to win their next two games forcing a game 7. Now anything is possible.

Roger known as captain video, because of his long hours of studying previous game is quite simply a hockey machine. Despite losing all his hair and much of his strength to this illness he still works for the Ottawa giving advice to the players. Roger has never sipped from Lord Stanley’s Cup. He made it to the finals with Canucks in the early 80’s. He almost made it to the finals in 2000 while up 3-1 against the same Devils. It was around that time when he first found out he had cancer. So he was given a more limited role and his assistant coach Craig Ramsay took over. He used amazing courage and strength to remain behind the bench after missing a few games due to treatment. Clarke rewarded Roger’s dedication by firing him later that year. No, he didn’t wait to see if he would get better over the summer, he fired him a shot period after the team was eliminated. That would later turn out to be a huge mistake. Clarke didn’t care that though he needed a scapegoat for that Spring, and he usually likes to pick on the ill or ones stricken by tragedy.

Anyway his speech touched the hearts of all the players and they seem to have all the energy now. What an image to see Roger touch the cup. Its realistic in thinking it his final wish. The man never married or had any kids. His marriage was to the game of hockey. The closest person in his life was his sister who died a few years back. Known for his dry sense of humor, whacky ties, and his way of reaching players made him shoe in for the hockey hall of fame earlier this year. Roger even help keep the rocky relationship between Lindros and Clarkie manageable for longer that it would have been. He tried to make sure Lindros had someone he could trust on the team.

It’s easily the first time I could root for a team that ousted the Flyers. It could just be the final breath of a team on its way to summer or vacation. Or maybe the hockey Gods are giving Roger his wings.