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It was pretty, but, at times, it was pretty boring, too.
We're talking about Hockey Night In Canada's Saturday night debut with its new look and programming changes.
The new studio, consisting of leather chairs and a mahogany coffee table in front of a large screen, looks clubby. Visually, it was elegant and also a little staid.
When the conversation is also staid, that's a problem. It's a hockey telecast, after all, not Masterpiece Theatre.
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There was no energy or excitement to the pre-game show. It was quiet and serious. Instead of starting off with a panel of know-it-all analysts, in the matter of most football and hockey pre-game shows, Hockey Night host Ron MacLean sat down with Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey to discuss his team.
Gainey is a low key guy and that clearly contributed to the sluggish start, although MacLean did ask some good questions, such as: Did the Canadiens really offer free agent Daniel Briere at $52-million contract. Gainey said, "Not quite."
Elliotte Friedman's piece with Toronto Maple Leaf general manager John Ferguson was, for the most part, well done. He asked Ferguson about rumours concerning Leafs' ownership talking to Scotty Bowman about taking over the hockey operation and "cleaning house." Ferguson said he was "very well aware" of the possibility.
Friedman discussed with Ferguson the loss of his father John Sr., but, amazingly, didn't tell viewers how he had died. It was prostate cancer. Friedman also alluded to "potentially serious issues" involving Ferguson's mother and son. Are we supposed to guess what they were? If you're not comfortable telling us, don't bring it up.
The second new segment on Hockey Night is the revised Hot Stove panel in the second intermission. We were taken back to the coffee table and leather chairs, this time with MacLean, Colin Campbell, the NHL's head of hockey operations, and Scott Mellanby, who's working as a TV analyst after a 21-year NHL career.
Mellanby produced good information on the Steve Downie hit to Dean McAmmond. Downie was given a 20-game suspension for jumping off the ice to elbow McAmmond in the head. But, as Mellanby noted, the damage was done, not because Downie was in the air, but because he pushed off the ice to gain maximum velocity. The rest the Hot Stove conversation was tepid - quiet, polite and dull.
Don Cherry, in his first Coach's Corner of the season, made some valid points about Leaf coach Paul Maurice's line combinations. Maurice might have been listening, because he juggled his lines in the next period.
Cherry was, as usual, lively, provocative (he aired a fighting clip) and entertaining. What a concept.
