Expectations are the easiest way for us to skew reality. We all do it—and we do it in every facet of life. Our viewpoint can be distorted whether we’re talking about a restaurant, a blind date or even a concert. And yes, our views can even be twisted when we’re watching our favorite team play hockey too. It’s OK. It’s human nature.
This past weekend I had an interesting dining experience in Santa Barbara. After multiple trips to the SB wine country, Mrs. Seats and I had finally decided to break down and go to the touristy restaurant on the main highway. Our reasoning for the change of heart was simple: the restaurant was literally a mile from our hotel. When staying in a city that closes its doors at 5:00pm, anything that is close is a huge win.
Something that you don’t see in the brochures, however, is the 2 hour wait on a Saturday night. I didn’t even know there were that many people in the entire Santa Ynez Valley! So after waiting for about 30 minutes, hearing my stomach start to grumble and a quick visit to Yelp, we took off to a restaurant that was in a hotel in the middle of the valley. It wasn’t in an indie movie, but it had 41 separate 5-star reviews on Yelp. Usually when that many people love a place, they’re onto something.
"What do you expect from me for my salary? Great goal scoring or groin injuries?"
The place where we ended up eating turned out to be one of the high points of the entire weekend. It was a great restaurant with an excellent atmosphere, amazing service and even better food. The best part of it was that it was completely unexpected. It’s like going out on a date with a sweet teacher-type woman. You might expect the first date to go well and have a good time, but do you really expect the date to end up at her house? It’s the unknown that makes it THAT much better!
Those moments that are unexpected are always better than the expected. Just like that insanely long wait at the restaurant; hockey gives us unexpected moments that always make it impossible to predict the future. And I’m not just talking about individual games or seasons either—I’m talking about those players that we watch our team build around for the future. There are some guys that we EXPECT to succeed; and there are those that we are pleasantly surprised when they succeed.
But our definitions of success are shaped by our expectations. Success for a 1st round draft pick might be considered a 10 year career. Maybe it’s a point per game player. Then again, success for a 5th round pick would just be to make the NHL for a single game. Somehow, I don’t think the Islanders and their fans would be satisfied if John Tavares just made the NHL in a couple of years. They expect much more out of their #1 overall pick than they do for Anders Lee.
I’m talking about the hockey players that you have no expectations for. Scott Parse on the Kings has fit in extremely well as a 2nd line winger. If Ted Purcell filled that role, I don’t think any Kings fans would be overly excited. They’d just think that he was doing what he was expected to do. The word that comes to mind is “relieved.”
Another Kings example can be found in two recent 2nd round draft picks. When Wayne Simmonds was drafted with the 61st overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, Kings fans didn’t have huge plans for him in the short-term. He was a guy that Dean Lombardi picked MUCH higher than the scouting services had projected him, was supposed to be a project that was going to need to refine his game and grow into his frame and hopefully would make the team one day. As it turns out, he DID make the Kings NHL roster—only a month after his 20th birthday! Since then he has developed into one of the Kings best wingers who plays with heart and intelligence on every shift. On a team of young players, he is one of the most dependable guys for head coach Terry Murray.
"I hit. I score. I play with heart. Not all 2nd rounders are like me though."
On the flip side was Dean Lombardi’s use of the 61st pick the next year in the 2008 Draft. Instead of using the pick this time, the Kings’ General Manager chose to trade the pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Brad Richardson. Richardson has been a serviceable NHL player on the 4th line and penalty kill this season and has useful (when called upon) 3rd line duties. Under any circumstances, getting a young, versatile NHL forward for the last pick in the 2nd round should be praised by a team’s fan base.
But because 2nd rounder Wayne Simmonds (and Oscar Moller/ Vyacheslav Voinov to lesser extents) has shown so much promise, fans aren’t thrilled with a guy that is simply playing in the NHL. Its not that they’re unhappy with Richardson’s game—they’re upset with what they had to give up acquiring him. But would they be happier with Peter Delmas? Would they be pleased if he was just any other player that just matured within the organization? A ton of Kings fans look at Richardson and think of nothing more than the 2nd round pick he cost the organization.
Expectations can be different for free agent acquisitions as well. By any measure, New York Rangers fans should be filled with joy by Marian Gaborik’s 2009 start. The man is leading the league in goals and is among the league leader in points. But then again, he was the biggest acquisition by a team with one of the brightest spotlights in the NHL. Ranger fans have 37.5 million reasons over the next 5 seasons to expect nothing but greatness out of the talented right wing.
But we only have to look 27 miles down the Long Island Railroad to see the Ying to the Rangers fans Yang. While the Broadway Blueshirts were doing what they do EVERY offseason, the Islanders were signing a castoff to a 1 year, 2-way contract worth $575,000. Islanders fans didn’t have ANY expectations for Matt Moulson this season—hell, most didn’t even know what they were getting. Yet here we are, two months into the season and he’s teaming up with John Tavares to be Long Island’s most dangerous duo in a decade.
I’m sure that Rangers fans are happy with the level of play that Gaborik has brought to the ice. But at the same time, it’s expected. If he was sitting on 5 goals and 10 assists, critics would wonder if Glen Sather spent foolishly again. On the other hand, Matt Moulson and his 19 points are making Garth Snow look like a genius. That’s what happens when expectations are as tall as Martin St. Louis.
Every team has players that exceed low expectations; as well as players that fail miserably short of unrealistic expectations. Who are the players on your team that are exceeding your expectations? It’s a subtle difference between the best players on your team—I’m talking about the player on your team that is playing so much better than you could have hoped for.
Try to keep that in mind next time you watch that 2nd line guy that only scores 25 goals when you KNOW he’s capable of so much more. I know I am.
