Benn and Seguin: Tasteless jokes
There was Jamie Benn talking about how he and brother Jordie, also a Dallas Star, didn’t room together. Then there was an inference that the Sedins did room together and did so because blah blah blah. Something moronic like that.
Somewhere along the way one of them said the Sedins look weird and they both laughed when the announcer guy said the Sedins are an example of how brothers should not behave in the NHL.
Their remarks were crass and I’ll say right off the top that I don’t know how old the Sedins’ children are but they are the kind of remarks that could fuel them being teased. Plus what’s with saying they look weird? Why do they look weird? They don’t look weird. What is looking weird? I know being weird well enough — which is what Benn and Seguin were being.
And the Sedins are examples of how not to behave? They’re among the classiest people to ever play in the league. Massive donation to a hospital, tremendous work in the community that continues even in the off-season. Great leaders, teammates, took their club to the Stanley Cup final, never back down despite being hacked as much or more than any player today.
Daniel and Henrik: NHL scoring titles
Oh, and they are amazing, each approaching 900 career points and had they not lost time to lockouts they’d be at 1,000. Plus both have won a scoring title. True Tyler Seguin might win one this season but while leading the NHL in points he has a 0 plus/minus. When Daniel won the title in 2011 he was a plus 30. When Henrik won in 2010? Plus 35.
I was extra disappointed because the Benn brothers are from Victoria, my home town, and my family and I followed them with extra interest. We were happy to see Jamie at the 2014 Olympics representing Canada. His father Randy Benn had competed for Canada in fast-pitch in the 1970s and it just seemed a nice story. It’s been diminished.
Okay, enough. Maybe Benn and Seguin regret it and maybe they’ll even apologize. Maybe in the long run it doesn’t matter. And maybe the Sedins don’t need me to defend ’em, they’ve been called names before and always meet it with class, as Henrik did Tuesday night on TSN 1040 in Vancouver.
They can meet it with class, the Sedins, because, unlike some people, they actually have it.
