from Michael Traikos,

Now that the blood has dried and we’re done shaking our collective fists at Tom Wilson, George Parros and the old-school culture of settling scores, can we please go back to marvelling at what Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have done so far this season?

Can we talk about the emergence of Adam Fox as a Norris Trophy contender and the endurance of Sidney Crosby as one of the game’s best players? Can we go back to debating whether Russian veteran Kirill Kaprizov should be considered a rookie and whether Patrick Marleau should have broken Gordie Howe’s games-played record? Can we laugh about how badly run the Sabres are and how no one is safe from John Tortorella?

Can we return to our regular scheduled programming and highlight the amazing years that Joel Quenneville, Aleksander Barkov and Marc-Andre Fleury are having, as well as Buffalo goaltender Michael Houser’s unbelievable journey from being left for dead in the ECHL to winning a couple of games in the NHL?

Can we focus on the hug that Nicklas Backstrom gave T.J. Oshie following a 4-2 win on Wednesday, rather than the cross-check that Pavel Buchnevich gave to Anthony Mantha in a fight-filled game?

Can we try to remember that the NHL isn’t broken? That it’s not a gong show or a sideshow or a poop-emoji show. That it’s been entertaining and fun and exactly the kind of distraction we all needed in a difficult year of virus variants and slow-rolling vaccinations, and where the local lockdowns keep being extended to golf courses and pickleball courts.

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