Feel better, Dickie.

For those of you who don't know already, Dickie "Digger" Moore, Hockey Hall of Famer, six time Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens and two time Art Ross trophy winner as the NHL's leading scorer, got roughed up pretty badly when his car was smashed into by a truck.

Apparently, Moore, who is 75 years old, suffered very serious back and neck injuries along with a few broken ribs on Sunday, damage which back in his playing days would have justified sitting out at least the second period, and maybe half the third, if the score wasn't close.

But in all seriousness, I'd like to wish Digger a speedy and safe recovery, and to be assured that he is in the thoughts of thousands of hockey fans.

That said, and my affection and concern for the well being of a seriously injured 75 year-old notwithstanding, it bears mentioning that this incident has done nothing to dilute my passionate hate for the Montreal Canadiens.

Christ, I hate those bastards.

In fact, this unfortunate episode seems to me to be a perfect opportunity for me to examine the depth of my hatred for the Canadiens, something I have never really looked into before. I mean, surely, I hate them, but HOW much?

It seems an odd question.

I mean, does one ever ask "how wet is the water?" or "how livegiving the sun?" Of course one doesn't. It seems foolish to question absolutes such as these- the water is simply wet, the sun is ingenuously lifegiving, and the Montreal Canadiens are black-livered bastards who wouldn't think twice about gutting their own mothers with a crepe knife.

I'll be honest with you.

Hockey's better with a little hate.

That said, there are certain incidents in which the rhetoric can be put aside.

Serious, life-threatening injuries, received either on or off the ice, are nothing that any real hockey fan should ever root for, even in his worst on-ice rival.

Non life-threatening injuries, on the other hand, injuries that a player can recover from without threatening his long term well being or livelihood are all good, no matter how painful they may be in the short term.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, not only do I wish that Dickie Moore has a speedy recovery and a long life, but also that Mike Ribero misses a week of training camp after getting a testicle caught in a set of impact tested accordion shutters.

That's not incompatible, right?