Friend-of-the-blog Chris Gordon (nom de guerre: Caps Snaps) put together a dazzling piece for the NYT hockey blog, Slap Shot, about the NHL’s media policy.  We discussed the issue at length here already.  The piece features quotes from Japers’ Rink, On the Forecheck, Caps media wizard Nate Ewell, and even us schlubs.  It’s a savvy piece, comparing at the motivations of blog-friendly clubs like the Caps to media-saturated and besieged teams like the Rangers (and pretty much everyone in Canada).

No excuse not to read it when the link is this big!

For the sake of laughs and posterity, here’s the full quote we supplied, unabridged and with a few more jokes:

All I’ve heard so far of the new NHL media policy is rumor. Until some enterprising PR guy leaks the thing, it’ll remain a straw man for bloggers like us to sneer at. From what I can tell, the policy codifies travelling teams’ ability to restrict access from new media folks.

I don’t think access to players – especially visiting teams – is what bloggers are good at or even interested in, so I doubt there will be much practical difference under this new policy. All the NHL has done, therefore, is antagonize and belittle bloggers for no apparent reason. We’re already a cantankerous and unstable breed of people, and although anarchic and headless, we generate a big chunk of buzz for National Hockey League.

Were I a decision-maker in Toronto, I’d begin a Blogger Appeasement Tour. It would start with granting unmitigated access to players in locker rooms and hotel rooms alike and end with perhaps some complimentary Knoll Life office chairs. Ahh, yes. That would be nice.

Congratulations, Chris, on your hard work.