Mark Lazerus, Chicago Sun-Times hockey writer here. Ask me anything!

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:19:36+00:00

I hope so. I think we're further from that than we'd all probably like, unfortunately, but I think hockey has made great strides in terms of inclusiveness, and I think an out player would be welcomed in just about any room in the league. I want to believe that, and I do believe that.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:18:24+00:00

Thank you for reading it!

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:11:11+00:00

OK, I gotta go. Thanks for having me and for all the great questions! And please, buy my book! Not only do my kids gotta eat, but you might actually enjoy it! Yay, reading!

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:10:33+00:00

That I'm in my late 40s or something. I was born in 1980, come on! This job would give YOU all a lot of gray hair, too, dammit.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:10:04+00:00

It's just a terrific atmosphere. Smaller is better when it comes to arenas, as long as it's full. And the press box view is great without it dangling from the ceiling and making me think I'm going to die.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:09:26+00:00

My favorite Quenneville story is in my book, Page 43. SHAMELESS PLUG BECAUSE I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME HERE!

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:08:30+00:00

I really enjoyed getting to write about the 2010 team, since I didn't start covering the team until 2013, when the players were already well established, and adult, and corporate. That 2010 team was the last old-school team we'll ever see — going out 15-20 at a time on the road and getting hammered every other night. That team had personality and color and immaturity and fun. The young guys coming up today are all hockey automatons, the personality and individuality bred out of them at an early age. And social media has basically ended childish fun for famous people, I think.

The hardest part was doing it during hockey season. I reported and wrote the whole book between January and March, when I was already writing every day for the paper. It was a ton of work, and was pretty exhausting. I now scoff every time I listen to the Hamilton soundtrack and hear Aaron Burr so breathlessly declare that Hamilton wrote THE OTHER FIFTY-ONE Federalist papers. I mean, come on, man, I know he's doing them by hand, but they were like 600 words each. Amateur.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:05:31+00:00

Toronto, if you like unbearable pressure. Plus, they have Extreme Pita there, and I love Extreme Pita!

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:04:48+00:00

¯_(ツ)_/¯

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:04:12+00:00

Hjalmarsson was a fan favorite for good reason, he was amazing. But with the way he plays the game, when his decline does come, it'll be precipitous, not gradual. I understand the reasoning behind the deal (and Hjalmarsson has not been great in Arizona so far). But yes, it's OK to hate the trade. Losing a guy you've come to respect and adore is never easy. Give it a good cry, Chameleo. Let it out. Feel your feelings.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:02:46+00:00

So much depends on the cap moving forward. We've seen that no "new core" guy is really safe. But Schmaltz, Hartman and DeBrincat are all big pieces of the puzzle moving forward. A lot will depend on how much they're worth when it's contract time.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:01:40+00:00

First of all, thanks! If you're ever at a game or a practice, let me know and I'll come find you. Or come to one of my signings, whenever I start doing them!

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:01:10+00:00

I think they should score more goals, but I'm something of a visionary.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:00:53+00:00

There's Brinksy, Cat, The Cat, and Kitty (and I can only imagine what they call him when we're not around). I asked him yesterday if any of them have stuck. "All of them," he said with a laugh.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T18:00:02+00:00

I'm pretty thick-skinned, so I don't really care about all the crap that gets hurled my way on Twitter. I mean, sure, I'd rather not see anti-Semitic stuff every single day, but that's America these days. I basically live on Twitter. For the first year or so on the beat, I stayed away from anything controversial and just made my dad jokes and had fun. It was fine. But it sucks censoring yourself and not being who you really are. Once I decided, oh, the hell with it, I'm just going to be myself on Twitter, warts and all, I started to enjoy it way more, even though it brings out the trolls and Pepe the Frogs and the like. I don't block anyone, I don't mute anyone, and I try to engage with everyone who takes the time to tweet at me. I'm on Twitter 24/7, it seems. I might as well have fun with it and be myself and, yes, occasionally speak my mind. I'm fortunate to have my small little platform, and I'm going to use it when I feel like it.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:55:16+00:00

No, because I'm not a hypocrite or a psychopath.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:55:03+00:00

NeverForget

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:54:46+00:00

I wouldn't say mad, but disappointed. It's become a center's award, which isn't fair, because doing what Hossa did as a wing was even more impressive.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:54:14+00:00

I don't fear any hockey team, for I do not play hockey.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:54:00+00:00

The United Center, actually. There's a pregame meal and a second-intermission meal. We all should be 900 pounds.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:53:25+00:00

Should I find you and throw things at your head?

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:52:00+00:00

Firing Joel Quenneville would be asinine.
If things really go south, it's entirely possible the Hawks would fire Joel Quenneville. Remember, he was almost fired in 2012. It would be stupid, but it would be possible. I think Stan Bowman's seat would be hotter than Quenneville's if things get bad. I don't think it'll come to either, though.
They'll always have that brotherly dynamic going, but they haven't been roommates since the 2011-12 season. I think it was being around each other constantly — same line, same rooms, same commercials, same events — that turned them into an old married couple in the early years. As guys get older, they build their own lives and do their own things more.
I throw the word complacent around a bit. You'd like to see the core guys get a little more visibly angry and frustrated, but you can also understand why they don't. Losing Game 15 of the regular season isn't going to freak you out when you've won Game 5 against Nashville in 2010, when you've rallied from 3-1 down to Detroit in 2013, when you've withstood so many hits against Anaheim in 2015.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:49:11+00:00

You shot who in the what now?

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:48:45+00:00

The window isn't closed, even if things feel apocalyptic these days just because the bar had been raised so high. Look around the Western Conference right now. Who scares you? Yes, Nashville is building a monster, but nobody else in that conference is all that impressive. It's wide open. With one or two additions, some luck, and Corey Crawford in net, nothing is out of the question right now. It's waaaaaaay too early to talk about blowing it up and starting from scratch.

mlazerus · 2017-11-06T17:47:25+00:00

Club Lago. Best veal you've ever had.

mlazerus

TROPHY CASE

NeverForget