Ode to Mike Knuble

I've always had a place in my hockey heart for Knuble. I went to the same high school as him, albeit like ten years later, but that's beside the point. When the Wings won the Cup in '97, he brought it around the city and happened to bring it to his old high school and ice arena. I just so happened to be participating in a hockey camp there that summer, so all of us got to meet Knuble and get a group picture with the Cup. That right there was amazing and I've loved him ever since.

I didn't like when Knuble left the Wings because he was one of my favorites growing up; hell, he still kind of is, simply because he plays the game the right way. He works hard, he forechecks, he's a natural leader, and he'll give you 100% every shift. No, he's not the most talented and he won't dangle your socks off, but I kind of prefer the hard-working, blue collar, grind the crap out of ya player more than the finesse guys, but that's just me.

Anyways, fast forward to the past couple seasons and he's been playing with Washington, as I'm sure you're all aware. For a while he was a great fit with Ovechkin and Backstrom or Semin and Backstrom, or whomever the coaches put him with. Fact of the matter was, he was getting top six minutes and a vast majority of his zone starts were in the offensive zone. That's the good ice time. This season though, he hasn't been producing as much, so naturally he gets demoted down to the second, third and fourth lines. Typically, especially for a veteran, no big deal. You do what you need to do, you do what your coach asks, things end up working out and you're back on your way.

Not the case this time.

Knuble was a healthy scratch last game which kind of blew me away. Looking at some of his stats, aside from not putting the puck in the net, he hasn't been getting a lot of quality scoring chances either. That right there says to work harder, I suppose, so scratching him seems like a valid move. Except for the fact that he's been playing bottom six minutes regularly, where the main role of those lines are to grind and forecheck; you're not expected to score 20 goals while playing on the third and fourth lines, but I digress.

I guess I'm saying all that to say this: give Knuble another shot. I'm willing to bet he's got some more in the tank. Perhaps he just needs a change of scenery? Maybe he doesn't really fit with the coach or the guys in the locker room anymore. Who knows. There was speculation that since Nathan Horton is out, maybe Boston will deal for Knuble. That'd be a real good chance for him, without a doubt.

Whatever it comes down to, it's been a joy and an honor watching you as I've grown up, Mr. Knuble.