Mike Milbury's Hiring Only Further Highlights Why He Should Be Banned From Hockey

WARNING: I'm about to go where many hockey writers have gone before. However, my stance on the matter is perhaps more radical...

In a crime against the game of hockey, current hockey analyst Mike Milbury was hired today to join CBC's Hockey Night in Canada crew.


Here are the two main reasons why it's a crying shame that Milbury has been able to hold a lengthy career as a player/general manager/coach, and now, an analyst on the most famous hockey broadcast on the continent.

1) The Shoe Incident.

Many people see Milbury's shoe incident as a classic example of "old time hockey." I see it as one of the reasons hockey is looked down upon in the U.S. As I will surely post about later, excessive fighting may draw in unknowledgeable fans, it severely hurts the credibility of the game.

So, on December 23, 1979, when Milbury climbed into the Madison Square Garden stands to "help" his teammates yet ended up beating a Rangers fan on the leg with his own shoe, that shoud've been the end of his career as we know it. Take a look; it's all in here:



Now, I ask you, how is this any different than the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills that took place in 2004? That riot has been cited as one of the darkest days in NBA history, yet what sports historians fail to realize (and probably because hockey is often a forgotten sport) is that Milbury's involvement in the "shoe incident" not only rivals the Palace Brawl, it was worse.



What's worse: Ron Artest (granted, he acted in as classless a fashion as one can) knocking heads with a few fans, or a series of players wearing VIRTUAL KNIVES on their feet entering a crowd of rowdy yet basically harmless fans?

If the Milbury incident had happened today (and I can't ever imagine it would), there's no telling what the consequences would be. Gary Bettman would've of course dubbed it a dark day for hockey, and Milbury would likely be looked down upon for a while by NHL executives, much like I'm doing right now in this post.

But the second reason better explains why Milbury shouldn't be an analyst, at least certainly not for CBC.

2) His Moves with the Islanders.

After the "shoe incident" in 1979, Milbury finished his career and had a rather successful coaching tenure in Beantown. The real trouble, and the real nickname began for "Mad Mike" on Long Island as a GM.


I bet all those Isles fans were real pumped about Michael Peca.

It's been noted that one could make an All-Star team out of the guys Milbury has let go. Isles fans know the worst instance of this came on the day of the NHL Draft in 2000, when Milbury traded Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Panthers for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish. Just writing about the trade makes me cringe.

And what do Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, and Raffi Torres all have in common? They weren't good enough to be retained on Milbury's roster. Don't forget Rick Dipietro either - Milbury drafted him first on that big day in 2000 over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik.

I think "Mad Mike" is too light. Let's call him "Stupid Mike."

The notion that this guy has any reason to analyze hockey is outrageous. Yes, he played, but beating a fan with his own shoe - and then throwing the shoe onto the ice [see video] mind you - should have hurt Mike's credibility a little more than it did. And yes, he was a coach, and yes he was a GM - but honestly, who the hell trades Luongo and Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha? That kind of thing just doesn't happen.

So, next time YOU watch Hockey Night in Canada, just make sure to research the analyst throwing information at you - he may have shown his true hockey colors at one (or several) points in his illustrious career.

Mike Milbury is the Peter Angelos of the Islanders, and hell, of the whole NHL!