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Earlier this week former Blues forward Cam Janssen appeared on St. Louis radio. Hardly unusual given that the current New Jersey Devils tough guy is from Eureka, MO -- which is a relatively short ride down I-44 from the city -- and trains back home during the offseason. Even less so considering he was as known for his candor with the media as he was for his antics on the ice. Always good for an honest sound byte and interview.
What is unusual are the depths that his comments on various hockey related topics reached. Cutting out the vague canned spam answers and putting the topic at hand in laymen's terms is his speciality. Running his mouth like a shock jock is not.
In speaking to Thom West of the
Thom and Jeff Show, an internet radio show based out of St. Louis, Janssen used the uncensored nature of the broadcast to launch a profane flurry remarks with chauvinistic and bigoted undertones -- scratch that, it was obvious -- while promoting a head hunting mentality that would make Matt Cooke and Raffi Torres blush.
I would provide you a link to the video, but alas it has been pulled off of both YouTube and the
Thom & Jeff Facebook page. For now a
link to the Puck Daddy article will have to suffice for those who want to see highlights. Scratch that... lowlights.
On getting in players' heads as a physical player:
(The host says, "If the guy was sucking [expletive] four weeks ago, you're going to know about it.")
"Oh, if he's sucking [expletive] he's getting his ass kicked. [Laughter]"
On the playoffs:
"I was pretty [expletive] miserable," he said about losing in the Stanley Cup Final, saying that the Devils "blew their load" against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final while the Kings had an easier path.
On the Los Angeles Kings, Janssen said:
"They kicked ass. That organization is very, very good for hockey. … it's going to be good for hockey for all of those whatever-you-want-to-call-thems over there, to get into hockey."
(The hosts compared losing to the Kings to "the first time you bang a fat chick.")
On losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the Final, Janssen said:
"Damn fat broads, man ... [The LA Kings are] the fat broads you just regret banging. I've been there and done that. It's a very good experience to see what it takes to make it that far. But losing like that, holy [expletive] that was a buzzkill."
On being an intimidating player:
"You wanna be scary. You wanna put the fear of [expletive] God into people's eyes. And not just, 'Oh, I'm gonna beat you up.' No, I'm gonna catch you with your [expletive] head down and hurt you, because I know how to hit."
On the best place to hit:
"If guys start chirping me when I skate by the bench, I'll [decide] I'm going to hurt somebody on this [expletive] team. Whoever's got the puck with their [expletive] head down, I'll [expletive] hurt you," he said. "Then on the next shift guys will just get rid of the puck because they know I'm coming. You can dodge a fight. But when you have the puck, you're going to get hit."
In the era we currently live in, one defined by an obscenely excessive fixation on being politically correct at all times, these quotes are quite damning. Not only for Janssen, but for who he represents. Though he is not seen in the video with a Devils logo on him, the audio clearly states he is a member of that team. Any hockey fan could do a quick Google search and confirm on Capgeek that to be true. It's impossible to escape the multiple mentions of St. Louis and the Blues. Now two long standing NHL franchises and a respectable midwestern city that prides itself on values stereotypical of the region have their named dragged through the Mississippi River mud.
Instead of hockey fans thinking about Marty Brodeur, David Backes and the delicious combo of thin crust pizza,toasted ravs, and a good lager they can pickup before a game they'll think about Dustin Penner in a Monica Lewinski dress beating people in the head. A bit sensationalized, but take a quick glance around Twitter and other social media hangouts for puckheads. All that's being discussed is Janssen's comments. Not the brilliant low cost rolls of the dice by Washington and Florida on Wojtek Wolski and Peter Mueller respectively.
As a fan of the Blues and a resident of the St. Louis metro area, I'm honestly embarrassed.
It's not much of a jump to say the Devils, and their fans, likely are as well. Though one could easily argue that they come out looking rather bad from the perspective of they just re-signed Janssen though he made zero impact on the playoffs seeing as he didn't dress for one postseason game. Even if the long term repercussions are minimal, which they probably are, it's not what General Manager Lou Lamoriello wants his fan base talking about following the departure of Zach Parise.
Though this post has been largely negative to this point, there is an angle to view this event from that pulls my opinion back towards neutral.
Let's review the situation again.
Thom and Jeff were cut from 105.7 the Point's lineup when their show began to grow stale. With no harm in continuing what they love to do they moved on to the Internet radio / podcast arena where restrictions are a little more loose to say the least. The freedom to throw away inhibitions and any regulatory red tape their artistic creativity could flow in whatever direction they chose. Given that their tag line to their show is "Uncensored and Unapologetic" I think you know which way they went.
the quotes don't really show how the conversation orchestrated (the video did), but it appears the questions were asked in a manner leading to the end result now so hotly debated.
Janssen is a young man who earns a very nice living playing the game he loves. While he did a great sum of charity work and was always seen doing positive things in the community, he's still "a guy". As an adult male only a year and 10 days older than him myself, I know that type very well. Kind of like Stiffler from the American Pie series. Physically mature, but still a bit wild and unrestrained at times because he has the freedom to do so. I'm not saying this to defame or attack him. Not in the least bit. However, we know single men between the ages of 20-30 like to have fun and don't always watch their mouth as if their mom is behind them with the Lava (as the 24/7 series covering the Winter Class has shown).
Minimal Restrictions + Leading a Willing Match to Gunpoweder = Explosion
As much as fans are appalled by the comments, especially considering the touchy topics and how visible they are, what should have been expected? Certainly not a dissertation on the merits of expanding the head shot rules or politely painted critiques of the LA Kings. It's a no holds barred conversation between a couple of guys who talked like they were at the bar sharing a Bud. Would anyone watch or listen to Howard Stern for a diplomatic debate between a porn star and a minister? No.
So before you get too pent up about what he said, take a step back and look at what actually happened and why. Sure, it's ok to be upset. They might as well come out and openly mocked the You Can Play movement and marginalized hockey moms. Those are fighting words if I've ever heard them. But keep some perspective. Try to understand that the set up was only going to end up driving the interview in a fast car to a hot place and only give the whole situation the amount of time it's worth... reading this post.
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Thanks for reading!
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