Hockey ‘n’ History: San Jose, sovereignty and halibut

On this day in Canadian history, in 1923, Canada signed the Halibut Treaty with the United States.

This agreement focused on fishing rights on the Pacific coast, and before you tell me, “who cares”, I’ll stop you by saying that this was actually a pretty important moment in Canadian History.

It was a milestone because it was the first treaty that was independently negotiated and signed by the Canadian government, without British approval.

Traditionally, representatives of the British government signed treaties on the behalf of the dominions of the British Empire.

However, by the 1920s, with Prime Minister Mackenzie King at the helm, Canada increasingly sought greater autonomy and independence from Great Britain. With the Halibut Treaty, the British wanted to serve as co-signatories, but King convinced them that the matter was not their concern.

As a result, the British reluctantly agreed to let Canada’s Minister of Marine and Fisheries, Ernest Lapointe, serve as the country’s sole signatory. Although this agreement on Pacific fish stocks was not breaking news in 1923, it was an important step in Canada’s path to greater autonomy and diplomatic independence in the 1920s and 1930s.

Lineup:

Montreal Canadiens at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m.
2014-15 Records: MTL 41-16-5 (1st in the Atlantic); SJS 30-25-8 (5th in the Pacific)

Leading Scorers: Max Pacioretty (30G, 25A); Joe Pavelski (31G, 26A)

Canada’s lone NHL team in action this evening are the Montreal Canadiens, as they begin the start of a four-game Western Conference road trip. Montreal are winners of four-straight and continue to charge up the league standings.

They will be facing a desperate San Jose team that needs to secure a win if they hope to stay alive in the race for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks are currently five points behind, and if they don’t start making up ground they will be in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Working in the Sharks’ favour is that Montreal has not historically fared well in San Jose; the Canadiens are 4-9-2 all-time in the shark tank.

Montreal actually has not beaten the Sharks in San Jose in more than 15 years. When they last did so, on Nov. 23, 1999, we would have been grooving to sultry sounds of Santana and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth.” Well, some of us.

However, if you want to find another team that has not played well at the SAP Center, look no further than the Sharks themselves. In the month of February, the team is an abysmal 0-6-2 in its own building. Moreover, San Jose is currently mired in a three-game losing streak but, they have not lost more than four straight since November 2014.

It’s a tough call but my gut says that San Jose picks up a much-needed home win against Montreal.

Prediction: San Jose by 1

Last Minute of Play:

It would be rather fitting if the Habs, a French-Canada based team, netted these west coast “fish” on the same day, 92 years later, that Ernest Lapointe, Prime Minister King’s Quebec lieutenant, signed the Halibut Treaty. However, the hockey gods do not care for these types of anniversaries, nor do they care that Montreal is backstopped by the best goalie in the league.

Hockey is a fickle game and it does not always oblige your logic or reason. While you could make a case for either team winning tonight, I’m using the historical record to cast my ballot. Given how the Canadiens have performed in San Jose, I’d say they will, once again, be chum in the water.

Current Record: 4-5.