Morning Flurries: Hat Tricks in Tampa and a roundtable in Denver

Welcome to Bye Week, Day 3!

If you’re bored already, don’t worry - I feel you. The bye week, as I’ve said, is awesome for the players who hoped to get that little mid-season break (I mean, how many of us would have made it through college without Spring Breaks?) but miserable for those of us who live and die by the games we tune in for.

There’s still absolutely no new news on the team for us to toss your way, so here’s Day 3 of filler drivel that I toss your way in case you need something fun to read during your morning poop.

Sorry there isn’t more to dig through.

First, let’s get the long read out of the way: MHH put up a Roundtable discussion this week to help pass the time, and Part I went up on Tuesday. If you need to catch up before reading Part II today, here’s your link. [Mile High Hockey]

In some potentially exciting news, it looks as though Hockey Canada is strongly considering Cale Makar as a candidate to play on the Olympic team. [MHH]

The team is also eagerly awaiting the return of Vladislav Kamenev, who has been out with an injury since like, the day after the team acquired him in the Matt Duchene trade. Should we get our hopes up too much? Nah, probably not. But will it be fun to cross our fingers for a solid return? Of course. Hope springs eternal and all that. [MHH]

Now, for around the league...

Want to watch a stupidly good goal? Of course you do. Here you go, courtesy of the tiniest little elite forward your eyes ever did see:

Meanwhile, in Boston, here’s an interview with Zdeno Chara on remaining relevant in a league that seems determined to phase his kind out. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

Now, for your daily dose of drama:

The San Jose Sharks players got REAL savage this week when talking about the Winnipeg Jets and how miserable their home city is. It’s cold, it’s dark, and it’s nowhere any of them want to be.

(apparently, it makes the Avs broadcast team want to die, too, so we’ve got a second opinion on the matter:)

Of course, who doesn’t like a good comeback, though?

“Given that the Jets beat the Sharks 4-1, I can understand that they don’t like Winnipeg. It’s never fun to lose.”

Rekt. Joking aside though, it’s worth checking out what head coach Paul Maurice had to say on the matter, because he really hit it home. [CBS Sports]

Finally, for your REAL dose of drama:

My younger brother is an avid watcher of the ‘Bachelor/ette’ TV franchise.

I don’t really understand why he watches it, beyond the fact that he does a fantasy pool for it sometimes (that I assume involves alcohol) and his lukewarm explanation of ‘the contestants and their drama’.

Anyways, he was texting me about hating this season, which I’ve heard is about on par. It sounds like the main dude, Arie, is some washed-up singleton from Scottsdale, Arizona who has all the personality of a stoned Walgreens clerk. I realized that hey, I gave you all a nice preview of the show when they announced the contestants - so why not give you an update in case you haven’t tuned in yet?

Since I’ve given you such a ringing endorsement already, here’s a nice recap of why Arie’s an utterly miserable, near-middle aged race car driver who’s going to end up alone, and why the show is garbage. Please enjoy. [Jezebel]