Tom Callahan

Walking in the Shadow of the Funny Man: Wade Belak 1976 – 2011

Here’s what you need to know about Wade Belak:

As scary and dangerous as he could be on the ice, Wade Belak could be completely done in by a five-year-old staring across the table at him during a player meet and greet at the Nashville Zoo.  Same goes for the kids he encountered at  Monroe Carell, Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt or anywhere else he might be recognised.

Saying Kaddish in Nashville: The Predators Departed, 2011 Edition

Seasoned fans are only too aware that this is the time of the year when owners and GMs will assure everyone that old favorites are being sent out to live on a farm where they can be happy and run free. With the totality of every heart that beats in a sweater (be it NHL issued or an eBay knockoff) we want to believe that there is a hockey Nirvana where everyone gets to be Gordie Howe forever. The truth is that time, injuries and salary caps take their toll and names are removed from above the wooden benches in locker rooms all over the continent.