Craig's Corner: The COVID-19 Asterisk

Nothing starts a debate amongst friends like arguing which athlete is the “best ever”. “Barry Bonds is the greatest home run hitter of all time!” “Roger Clemons should be a hall of famer as one of the greatest pitchers of all time.” “Brad Marchand is the most skilled agitator of all time!” All these points are valid and could be taken as they are. Yeah, but… Here it is. An argument’s version of an asterisk. “Yeah, but Bonds was also on steroids and that’s obviously cheating.” “Yeah, but Clemons was juicing so he should not be allowed in the hall of fame.” “Yeah, but Marchand also licks people and I feel like that’s going too far.” "Yeah, but…" Is that what we are going to say when it comes to the 2020 NHL playoffs? There has been a lot of talk about what will happen with the NHL playoffs this year. Will there be an NCAA style tournament? Will the NHL go by points percentage? Will they use the current standings as they are? Is there a perfect solution? No. Whoever wins the 2020 Stanley Cup, or if any team does, that team will always be followed by a “Yeah, but…” in that conversation. “Yeah, but that was the Covid-19 season, so the playoffs weren’t legitimate. It was different from every other year, so they get an asterisk.” Maybe that’s not fair. It’s not like anyone had any choice in the matter. But for the sake of argument, it is a legitimate case to say that this year’s Stanley Cup champion deserves an asterisk. Even if the record books don’t show one, good luck telling that to the fans. We are amidst the craziest time that I have seen in my life. I never thought I’d see the day the entire sports world came to a halt. But here we are. We are practicing social distancing, we are doing our best to help others, and we are making the best of our current situation. Isn’t that all we can ask for? “Yeah, but I sure wish I could watch some playoff hockey.”