Two Amazing Returns

We have two excellent, wonderful returns to write about. One you know about, the other you probably don't.

Let's begin with the lesser known of the two. Those of us who watch the NHL Network religiously are very familiar with the wide variety of infomercials shown on the network. Furthermore, those of us who have watched the NHL Network from the network's American debut remember the day when they showed like five commercials. One of those five commercials was an ad for the Furi Ozitech knife sharpening tool. The ad, truly one of the cheesiest ever filmed, disappeared for a while after an initial run. But like any great commercial - and by great, I mean annoyingly catchy, like the Mighty Putty ad and the Darryl Sittler commercial - it made a comeback.

We here at The Rivalry celebrate the return of the Furi Ozitech commercial by wasting two paragraphs discussing it. Here's a link to a far less corny version of the commercial. So tell all your mates - the Furi Ozitech commercial is back! And the next time you think someone's got a sharp set of knives, put those knives to the ultimate test - the ripe tomato. Put that knife through the diamond-encrusted sharpeners at 20 degrees, the ideal angle for getting the perfect edge. Try getting THAT on a steel! (Sharpens knife, then cuts a cucumber) Now THAT'S a sharp knife!

With that out of the way, we move on to the real purpose of this post - to congratulate Claude Lemieux on his comeback.

You will not find two more staunch advocates of Lemieux's Hall of Fame candidacy than Zach and myself. Four Stanley Cups - on four different tours of duty, no less. The ninth-highest goal-scoring total in playoff history. 379 regular-season goals, which aren't too shabby for a player primarily known as a "pest". And if he manages to add a fifth Cup with San Jose? How on Earth could you keep him out of the Hall after that?

You know how these stuffy, pompous baseball writers love to make themselves seem more important than the Hall of Fame by doing things like sending in blank ballots to protest the steroid era and leaving deserving players off ballots because "nobody deserves to get in their first year"? Well, if I were a voter for the Hockey Hall of Fame, I'd send in a ballot with Claude Lemieux's name listed four times in a row. Antagonizers have just as important a place on championship teams as scorers, and if this is the only legacy Claude Lemieux leaves behind, it's more than sufficient evidence of his Hall worthiness. However, it seems as though the only numbers that matter to the Hall voters are goals. Then again, if you look at goals, Lemieux has more goals in the post-season than Jean Beliveau, and he's just two behind Rocket Richard. Again, how do you leave out a guy with this pedigree?

Now, most likely, all Lemieux will be able to bring to the Sharks is his experience and his feistiness. He's not going to score ten goals this playoff. Hell, he might not even play in the Finals, just like Chris Chelios last year. But the Sharks, perennial playoff chokers that they are, need something to get them over the hump and Lemieux could be just what they need. As a Lemieux fan and as a hockey fan in general, I hope these two parties can help each other achieve great things.

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Isles are bumped to the channel guide yet again. So much for HD tonight. Enjoy the game.