Forsberg's undressing of Hirsch was immortalized by a postage stamp. (Source: AP)

Before this article and the related buzz, Corey Hirsch's biggest claim to fame was being the Canadian goalie in the gold medal game shootout of the '94 Olympics who got deked out of his jock strap by Peter Forsberg, which was such a significant goal in Swedish history that it was later immortalized by the release of a national postage stamp. Hirsch never parlayed that silver medal very far as he struggled to maintain a steady NHL roster spot and bounced around from team-to-team with an elevator type collection of moves up and down from the minors. A year and half ago Hirsch finally realized he would never cut it in the NHL and took his act to Europe where he played for 15 games as an injury replacement for Timra of the Swedish Elite League and then followed that up by signing a one-year contract with the Langnau Tigers of the Swiss Elite League for the 2004/2005 season. Then with the subsequent lockout by NHL owners of the players Hirsch lost his starting job to Martin Gerber of the Carolina Hurricanes when he joined the team.

"I think some of these players should have a talk with my pregnant wife and kids who moved their lives to Europe, only to watch me sit in the stands game after game, because I have been bumped by an NHL player."

Of course what Hirsch fails to mention in his article is that he lost his job to one of only a handful of Swiss-born NHLers. In terms of Swiss hockey, goalies like Martin Gerber and David Aebischer (who has also signed with the Swiss Elite League) are the Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy of the country's sporting history. Here's a little background on Martin Gerber, the "scab" that stole Hirsch's spot:

· Played 3 seasons for the Langnau Tigers from 1998-2001.
· Swiss Elite League Goalie of the Year in 2000.
· Represented his country in international play.
· Lists playing in the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs and for the Swiss national team as his biggest hockey thrill.
· Has only been in the NHL for two seasons earning an annual salary $1.3M below the NHL average.

So here's a guy who loves playing for his country, grew up making his mark for the very Langnau Tigers he has rejoined and has just started to earn a regular NHL salary and a low one at that. Wow, Gerber really sounds like a malicious guy out to take food off the table from Hirsch and his pregnant wife. Give me a break.

Hirsch's article is nothing but a collection of bitter rants from a goalie who is having a difficult time accepting that his skill level and marquee are not enough to draw a steady paying job that he and his family are satisfied with so instead he preys on the emotions of the general public to win sympathy for his plight. If you can't rely on a steady paycheque and you're worried about your family's economic situation then find another job. No GM or owner in their right mind is going to award you a job out of pity.

Hirsch needs a lesson with reality. If someone is more qualified than you then they'll win the job; this is how the job market works. For example, I graduated from Carleton University in 2002 with a degree in Commerce and this unfortunately coincided with the high tech layoff/job downturn. Behind the government, hi-tech is still the most predominate job industry in the National Capital Region. I would go to job interviews and find myself competing against and losing out on job opportunities to former Nortel, Alcatel and JDS executives for entry-level marketing positions. These were people that had obviously dropped their standards because they were eager to find a way to keep their skills fresh and earn an income. I wasn't happy about it, but I didn't cry about it and complain that I was getting beat out by increased competition. No one owed me anything.

	Sponsor exemptions like Annika Sorenstam are great for business. (Source: AP)

Not only is this NHL lockout situation a great opportunity for the European club owners who are experiencing increased attendance but for many of these European-born NHLers they are getting an opportunity to play in front of a normally remote and distant fan base. It is at an owner's discretion to decide which player movements will be most beneficial to their club's financial success. Decisions like these are prevalent on the PGA tour. In each PGA sponsored tournament a handful of spots are left open as sponsor exemptions. The sponsor is eligible to invite any players they see fit that normally wouldn't have qualified for the event. Often these spots go to veterans like Fred Couples, John Daly and Paul Azinger to name a few. Other times the sponsors create a bigger splash when they decide to invite Annika Sorenstam or Michelle Wie. Most times these sponsor exemptions fail to deliver any meaningful results and get ousted at the 3rd round cut but the attention and interest they create makes it a huge financial success. How is this different than the roster spots that some European clubs reserve for imports?

By signing these high-profile locked-out NHLers don't you think that deep down these European owners are waiting on Canadian networks to purchase national TV rights to broadcast games for hockey starved fans? Hirsch obviously has a vested interest and can't take himself outside his own interests to realize he's still part of business in Europe; a business that operates on a much smaller financial scale than the grandiose NHL but nonetheless still a business.

Here's my biggest problem with Hirsch's argument about NHL replacement players killing the livelihood of European players. Hirsch is a veteran of all of 20 games and counting. What credibility does he have to speak out on behalf of all the European players? It would be like seeing William Hung come out and take the lead for all music artists in the fight against music piracy; it simply wouldn't carry any validity. Give me a 15-year veteran of European hockey who has lost his job and I'll listen.

While were on the topic of taking away opportunities from others, isn't that exactly what Hirsch did by writing an article for the paper? By having his article printed Hirsch negated an opportunity for freelance writers to do their work. So in a way isn't he a scab writer? He doesn't need to write to sustain his current level of lifestyle but yet he does so without any misgivings.

Oh, just in case you were wondering about Hirsch's latest status he is now playing in Germany with the Kassel Huskies where he has bumped Jan Muenster and former NHLer and journeymen minor leaguer Joaquin Gage from their respective spots.