Marty McSorley. Third most penalized player in NHL history. He did studio work for Fox Sports Net West in LA last year, commenting on Ducks and Kings games. I mostly remember him as a King (he was Wayne Gretzkey’s protection when the Great One was there), and for the slashing incident with Donald Brashear. The two heavyweights had exchanged words and fists earlier in the game. Late in the third period, and from behind, McSorley hit Brashear on the side of the head with his stick. It wasn’t a huge two-handed baseball swing, but it was enough to give Brashear a major concussion. Marty was suspended for a year, and never played in the NHL again.

I know I have gushed over youtube.com before, but I just can’t get enough of it. I also found this old fight between them, when McSorley was a Shark.

Anyway, I hope Marty will bring some of the same type of commentary that Drew did. The TV announcers (Randy Hahn is the play-by-play guy) are paid by the Sharks. But despite that, Drew and Randy still took the Sharks to task on many occasions when they played poorly. They both would point out bad calls by the refs, even when the Sharks benefited. Of course they were happy when the Sharks won, and sad when they lost, but they called the game in a balanced way. Nothing is more annoying than big-time “homers” on the radio or TV. I did not see any of McSorley’s analyst work last year, but I hope he will bring his 17 years of NHL experience to bear in the booth, and help fans understand the best sport there is. That includes blasting the Sharks’ power play when they’re only converting 10% of the time.