by Lyse, AllHabs.net
QUÉBEC, QC. – Anything to get close to him. Yeah, even at this ripe-old age of mine, this Sunday morning I’m akin to a starry-eyed teenager. I’m in love with big Hal.
Actually, I always loved the player even when he was criticized for being this tall slow, immobile defenseman on my favorite hockey team. And I stood by him when he got all that flack for being austere towards up and coming P.K. Subban.
You might say I’m being an opportunist, writing about Big Hal, the morning after he was top-trending on Twitter worldwide (!). But, to set the record straight, if you haven’t been following me on Twitter lately, I did tweet a number of times in the past month something like :
You gotta <3 Big Hal.
First of all, besides goalies, I’ve always loved tall men. And being amongst the league’s top shot blockers, well…
But, notwithstanding the fact that he’s on his way to invent a type of hat trick of his own – if he scores against the Bruins he’ll get consecrated with the Hal Gill’s hat trick – this new found wave of love I’m feeling was ignited with the screening of his feature on “Nos Canadiens” Friday night.
It prompted me to tweet out loud : « If I had to pick right now, I’d like Hal Gill to be my father. »
Because, this episode of “Nos Canadiens” brought to the forefront more evidence to something that I, and many who follow the team around, knew all along : Big Hal is a father figure to P.K. and probably to many young-uns on this team. You might discredit the TV series as being a gigantic infomercial praising the merits of the men in Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, but you cannot script such a loving personality.
I wish Hal Gill stays around the Habs next year, be it as an active D-man, as a D-coach or as a special counselor.
And with quotes of his like “Sorry doesn’t mow the lawn” or “Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds nuts”, he should publish a book of sayings. Or, better yet, do as @Mcammalleri13 and @BrentSopel did before him, join Twitter…
You want to know what made me crack about Hal? He drinks café so he can keep up with ebullient Subban. Now, that’s something to love. Yes, I could volunteer to mow Hal’s lawn, but unfortunately it is snowing right now.
Oh, and for those who missed the “Nos Canadiens” episode featuring Hal Gill, please visit the Vtele website.
There was a time last year where I wondered just what Gainey was thinking when he signed Gill. Then the playoffs and his shot blocking heroics. Now he’s serving as a mentor to one of the future cornerstones of the Habs in Subban. All this while still killing penalties like nobody’s business. Now we know what Gainey was thinking, and its no wonder that we all would like to see Gill remain a Hab for at least another year.
Great to see you blogging again!
Gill needs to be on this team at least 2 more years. Not just for PK, but the small time he spent in preseason with Tinordi was EXCELLENT. Habs need him for the kids!
Also noticed PK picked up his footwork (as in the way Gill blocks with his big feet, tilting the foot so it hits the protection and not the boot straight on).
When he first signed here, i shuttered a bit cause I never thought a player like Hal Gill could ever be appreciated in Montreal. Recent goal-scoring prowess aside, a lot of people learned how valuable he can be last spring. His personality doesn’t hurt either!
I <3 Hal Gill.
I have his tshirt and a jersey with his name/number. People question me all the time why him, I just say he gives people like me (who can't play hockey that well, but great at getting in the way) a chance!
I ♥ Hal! That’s all! ^_^ I’m happy we have him and I hope we keep him. He’s worth so much more to the team than points. All his intangibles are the reason he makes everyone around him play better than their best. Too bad not enough people appreciate that. But with 2 goals in the bank, maybe everyone else will
just shut up. Great post!
I agree so much with your article. Last year during the playoffs, I fell in like with him. This year, he’s turned out to be filling so many roles and I love that. Besides, he’s old-time tough. Remember him coming out with gauze stuffed up his nose earlier this year? I hope he sticks around, too.
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