The Day The Music Died

Don McLean has two number-one songs in music history. While the song "Vincent" isn't as popular as his song inspired by the plane crash that took the lives of musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP Richardson in 1959, there's something about McLean's lyrics of "the day the music died" that linger when you listen to his hit "American Pie". McLean never really spoke a lot about the meaning of the song that references a number of musicians, but the original lyric sheet for the song shows notes about how McLean wrote ths song about life "becoming less idyllic" and how the changes in the world had affected rock-and-roll music. I'm not saying that CapFriendly's closure today will have the same effect on the hockey world, but it honestly seems like losing that resource will undoubtedly change the hockey world for fans and teams alike as we move forward.

I'm not saying that having CapFriendly working would be life-changing for the vast majority of people, so maybe there's a little hyperbole in comparing it to Don McLean's song. For me, it was habit to check the status of player's contracts whenever we were doing research for The Hockey Show or an article here on HBIC, but that habit is broken today with the site going dark. If we're going to debate a player's value, it seems hockey pundits will need to find a new way to do so.

I do want to wish the people who ran the site all the best in their future employment with the Washington Capitals as that's an exciting opportunity for any and all of them to get into the hockey world and make a difference. Many have been writing information and code into the site for years as the site evolved into one of the best hockey sites on the internet, and I can't deny that the reward wasn't worth the effort. Yes, I'm still not thrilled about Ted Leonsis buying the site and shutting it down, but the CapFriendly staff deserve the opportunity they created for themselves.

There likely will be a site that steps up to fill the void and the evolution of that site will happen organically as a new contender emerges from the fallout. As of right now, PuckPedia is a good resource that is working diligently to add new tools and improve their site, so go easy on them for now as they look to step into the spotlight. My hope is that they'll get back to the same level of information that CapFriendly held and possibly take things to new heights with new tools and features.

It's a darker day on the hockey front with CapFriendly going dark today, but there are stars that are emerging from that darkness. Again, I wish the CapFriendly staff all the best and thank them for all their hard work over the years in becoming one of the go-to sites for hockey news and information. For the new group that does emerge, follow CapFriendly's lead when it comes to late-night coding and updating on the fly during Free Agency Day and the Trade Deadline.

If there's one thing we know from the developments over the last month, people will notice hard work just like they do for hockey players. And just as we see on the ice, hard work and talent is tough to defeat in any situation.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!