Bathgate, AndyAndy Bathgate Bauer, BobbyBobby Bauer Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau Benedict, ClintClint Benedict Bentley, DougDoug Bentley
Saturday, December 31, 2011
NHL Hat Trick: A Look at the NHL with an NFL Viewpoint on Super Bowl Sunday
On this Super Bowl Sunday, as the nation sits down to celebrate the ending of the National Football League season, it is a time to eat, drink and be merry.� In the spirit of the end of the NFL season, in this week?s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick we will take a look at the National [...]
Video: This 3-year-old knows San Jose Sharks better than you
On the adorability scale, this 3-year-old San Jose Sharks fan ranks somewhere between Joey Junior Blackhawks Reporter and that little Penguins fan that freaked out when his parents revealed themselves as loyal to the Red Wings. Here is hockey parenting at its finest:
You nearly had us at "Patwick MAHLEAU!" You definitely had us at "Marc-Edwah VLASIC!"
OK, so it was bad enough Dan Girardi made every hockey parent jealous on HBO 24/7 because his little 2-year-old can take one-timers like he's Steven Stamkos. Now we've got a 3-year-old who says "Niittymaki" better than half the play-by-play guys in the League.
Parental inferiority complexes, on the rise ...
s/t reader Sara Anderson for the clip.
Grant, MikeMike Grant Green, ShortyShorty Green Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky Griffis, SilasSilas Griffis Gulutzan, GlenGlen Gulutzan
Puck Headlines: Fehr on work stoppage; Crosby still concussed
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
?�Via Puck Daddy reader John Gillis (any relation to Mike?) comes the NHL shaving kit. If this is what the Sedins use to get those perfectly-maintained goatees, I'm in.
?�Elliotte Friedman wonders if Bob Gainey might take over the bench in Montreal himself, plus 29 other great thoughts. [CBC]
?�Sean Fitz-Gerald asked Donald Fehr if we're in danger of another NHL lockout, and his answer is terrifying: "All I can say is, I would certainly hope not. In the last negotiation, there obviously was a long stoppage at the owners' instigation. Both long stoppages in hockey have been lockouts, the players haven't had any extended strikes. The owners insisted upon and received enormous concessions from the players, so one would hope that those days are days that people can write about in the history books, and we don't have to look at them going forward. Having said that, I've been doing this too long and in too many different places to make predictions." In other words: if necessary, yes. [National Post]
?�Holy crap, the NHL has seen 28 concussions in December already. That's more than one a day. [NHL Red Light]
?�Count Eric Lindros among the many saying the game's gotten too fast. [Canoe]
? Speaking of counts, notorious vampire Sidney Crosby is still experiencing concussion symptoms. There's a familiar update. [Pittsburgh Live]
? John Madden will be rejoining Dale Tallon with the Florida Panthers. [Star Tribune]
?�The quiet room explained. Despite sharing its name with a blanket fort I built as a kid, it's not a blanket fort. [Backhand Shelf]
? Scotiabank Place unveiled a massive new scoreboard Tuesday night as part of its renovations leading up to the All-Star game. From the Ottawa Senators' press release: "The Bell HD Screen will have 2,170 square feet of viewing space, compared to the existing scoreboard at Scotiabank place, which has 300 square feet of viewing space. Each of the four primary HD screens will be 331 square feet in size, in comparison to the existing boards, which are 75 square feet. This new Bell HD Screen is the largest board that can be installed into Scotiabank Place." Here's video of its debut:
?�Ryan Whitney's update on his ankle sounds very bleak. [Oilers Nation]
?�Hockey Wilderness takes exception to Brendan Shanahan's tendency to forgive guys for hitting their players from behind. [Hockey Wilderness]
?�Some people don't like Canada's use of "Chelsea Dagger", the Chicago Blackhawks' goal song, at the World Juniors. [Edmonton Journal]
? Speaking of the World Juniors, by hosting them, Alberta can expect $80 million injected into the national economy. [The Globe & Mail]
?�The Toronto Maple Leafs need to improve their penalty kill if they want to make the playoffs. [Sportsnet]
?�It's episode 9 of Fake Henrik Zetterberg. [Fake Henrik Zetterberg]
?�And finally, Finnish hockey fan Janne Makkonen's video, titled "Our Way of Life", is really, really great.
Gartner, MikeMike Gartner Gary Gambucci Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion George Brown George Owen
Winnipeg Jets Afternoon News (Thursday, Dec 29th)
Jets welcome baby Buff. Slater a game time decision. Ticket fraudster busted. Jets host rejuvenated Kings. Game day post-practice audio.
Next opponent news - L.A. Kings: Kings travel to Winnipeg.
World Junior Report: Scheifele relieved after hitting scoresheet. No one's neutral about the Swiss. Fans boo Junior Hockey celebrations.
Next opponent news - L.A. Kings: Kings travel to Winnipeg.
World Junior Report: Scheifele relieved after hitting scoresheet. No one's neutral about the Swiss. Fans boo Junior Hockey celebrations.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/5Y6s1L2hbXY/
Amo Bessone Anderson, GlennGlenn Anderson Anthony Tony Conroy Apps, SylSyl Apps Armstrong, GeorgeGeorge Armstrong
The Frustration of Forced Patience for NY Islanders Fans
My latest for CBS New York is about how fans need not to fret on Nino Niederreiter’s ice time. Too often, especially with a bad NHL team, focus then invariably sets with high expectations on the next kids. I go into the Islanders prospect process and site examples. Check it out!� Next up on CBS [...]
Source: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/bdgallof/41913/
Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek Broadbent, PunchPunch Broadbent Broda, TurkTurk Broda Bruce Mather Bucyk, JohnnyJohnny Bucyk
Scouting the World Junior Championships
Let's take a look at the teams competing for medals in this year's tournament.
Canada
The good: Have spent the last few days paying inspirational visits to the less fortunate, such as children's hospitals and also the prison camp where last year's silver medal team is kept.
The bad: Are expected to make it through at least one playoff round, and it will probably get annoying having to constantly explain to Alberta hockey fans how that works.
USA
The good: Every American kid on the roster has been dreaming of winning this tournament ever since the moment they realized they weren't good enough to play football, basketball or baseball.
The bad: Dominant goaltender Jack Campbell returns for the third straight year, and you have to think one of these years somebody's going to take a closer look at that fake ID.
Czech Republic
The good: Scouts agree that top player Martin Frk looks just like an NHL superstar, in the sense that he won't be playing because of a concussion.
The bad: For reasons nobody can quite figure out, have spent the weeks leading up to the tournament arguing over whether their coach should have to be able to speak French.
Denmark
The good: Have been working on implementing a 1-3-1 defensive system to use when the score is tied, so that takes care of the game's first shift.
The bad: Are in a group with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland and the United States, so they didn't have to spend any extra money on cancellation insurance for those flights homes immediately after the preliminary round.
Finland
The good: Should be in good shape if a playoff spot comes down to the tie-breaker, which for some reason this year is "most umlauts".
The bad: Star player Mikael Granlund's mother never lets him play in major international tournaments unless he lets his kid brother Markus tag along with him.
Latvia
The good: Have assured their fans that there's no chance of a repeat of their humiliating 16-0 loss to Canada in Saskatoon in 2010, since there aren't any games in Saskatoon this year.
The bad: Despite much pleading, Arturs Irbe still refuses to let them borrow the country's only set of goalie equipment.
Sweden
The good: The country has been producing much better goaltenders ever since the 2003 debut of their "Hey, maybe don't head butt the winning goal into your own net" training program.
The bad: While choosing a final roster early to allow the players time to gel is often a worthwhile strategy, in hindsight 1996 may have been a little too soon.
Switzerland
The good: Clever headline writers won't have any trouble figuring out which type of cheese to compare their defensive coverage to.
The bad: Are traditionally considered a dark horse in the tournament, in the sense that dark horses are terrible at playing hockey.
Slovakia
The good: Team officials say that the players and coaches don't know the meaning of the word "defeat", which is awesome, because it means that after a few games of the preliminary round everyone will have learned a new word.
The bad: The team's chances suffered a major blow when Zdeno Chara's 6'5" 240-pound oldest child was disqualified from the competition on the technicality that she's two years old.
Russia
The good: Following in tradition, the team arranged for a pre-tournament pep talk from one of the country's biggest current NHL stars.
The bad: Based on the way the entire team has spent hours just staring out the window into the night sky while mumbling "whoa", Ilya Bryzgalov may not have been the best choice.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DownGoesBrown/~3/bOSuSLhOM-w/world-junior-championships-preview.html
Colorado Avalanche Columbus Blue Jackets Colville, NeilNeil Colville Conacher, CharlieCharlie Conacher Conacher, LionelLionel Conacher
Winnipeg Jets Afternoon News (Saturday, Dec 31st)
A hockey night in Winnipeg. Jets want one more win to end 2011. Jets, Leafs put identical records on the line. Leafs make 1st trip to Winnipeg since 1996.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/MImyGqOzoek/
Armstrong, GeorgeGeorge Armstrong Arniel, ScottScott Arniel Art Berglund Babcock, MikeMike Babcock Bailey, AceAce Bailey
Rangers Sign Defenseman Anton Stralman (update, made official 11/5)
Updated 11/5 @ 3:25pm:
According to the Daily News, the deal was today made official and Mike Rupp who will undergo surgery next week, has been placed on injury reserve.
-------------------
TSN confirms that the Rangers have signed Anton Stralman, a rumor that has been circulating for well over a week now.
According to TSN:
As far as Stralman goes, it's a depth move for sure. However, from what I've read he's a very soft defenseman and as a PuckCentral commenter pointed out when the rumor began last week, he sounds like "Christian Backman 2.0." And that's not a good thing. Only time will tell, he'll likely rotate in and out of the lineup as needed for Eminger and Woywitka as long as the defense remains healthy (minus Staal of course).
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Agree or Disagree with what was said? Use the comments link below...let your voice be heard!
According to the Daily News, the deal was today made official and Mike Rupp who will undergo surgery next week, has been placed on injury reserve.
-------------------
TSN confirms that the Rangers have signed Anton Stralman, a rumor that has been circulating for well over a week now.
According to TSN:
The New York Rangers signed defenceman Anton Stralman to a one-year, $900,000 contract on Thursday.
Stralman was an unrestricted free agent after the Columbus Blue Jackets did not make him a qualifying offer this summer.Unfortunately this isn't the best of news, because it appears that Marc Staal may be out for much longer than had originally been expected. According to the NYRBlog the Rangers probably have not officially announced this deal because they are waiting to place Staal on long term injury reserve and clear some significant salary cap. I'm not sure how accurate that is, unless the Rangers are potentially ready to make another move, because right now the team would have the cap space to add the $900k cap hit.
As far as Stralman goes, it's a depth move for sure. However, from what I've read he's a very soft defenseman and as a PuckCentral commenter pointed out when the rumor began last week, he sounds like "Christian Backman 2.0." And that's not a good thing. Only time will tell, he'll likely rotate in and out of the lineup as needed for Eminger and Woywitka as long as the defense remains healthy (minus Staal of course).
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Agree or Disagree with what was said? Use the comments link below...let your voice be heard!
Source: http://puckcentral.blogspot.com/2011/11/rangers-sign-defenseman-anton-stralman.html
Conacher, LionelLionel Conacher Conacher, RoyRoy Conacher Connell, AlecAlec Connell Cook, BillBill Cook Cook, BunBun Cook
Los Angeles Kings post-game audio
Following their 2nd game in two nights, the Kings took 3 of 4 points on this mini road trip. Jack Johnson and coach Sutter spoke to the media following the loss.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/qAkID-w53z4/
Clifford Fido Purpur Coffey, PaulPaul Coffey Colorado Avalanche Columbus Blue Jackets Colville, NeilNeil Colville
The Jets and their opponents are capitalizing on back-to-back games
We take a closer look at how the Jets have fared when playing teams who have played elsewhere and then had to fly to Winnipeg to play a back-to-back game. We will also examine how the Jets have done in these types of situations.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/PgRwhrULBS0/
Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek Broadbent, PunchPunch Broadbent Broda, TurkTurk Broda Bruce Mather Bucyk, JohnnyJohnny Bucyk
Winnipeg Jets Afternoon News (Thursday, Dec 22nd)
Jets no longer thrashing around. Jets welcome Canadiens to Winnipeg. Pavelec calls out teammates. Coach Noel not comfortable in French, but that's no controversy. Jets & Habs audio.
Next opponent news - Montreal Canadiens: Habs Cunneyworth unconcerned by French-language controversy. Quebec nationalist protest planned for upcoming Canadiens game.
Next opponent news - Montreal Canadiens: Habs Cunneyworth unconcerned by French-language controversy. Quebec nationalist protest planned for upcoming Canadiens game.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/iPFP8B7pmwQ/
Barry, MartyMarty Barry Bathgate, AndyAndy Bathgate Bauer, BobbyBobby Bauer Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau Benedict, ClintClint Benedict
Game Day Preview: Canadiens @ Jets
The struggling Montreal Canadiens roll into town fresh from a loss last night in Chicago. The Jets are coming off a shootout loss here at home to the Islanders. Both teams need a win tonight.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/H8Z0pirNNFE/
Bucyk, JohnnyJohnny Bucyk Buffalo Sabres Burch, BillyBilly Burch Bylsma, DanDan Bylsma Calvin Cal Marvin
Friday, December 30, 2011
Winnipeg Jets Afternoon News (Thursday, Dec 22nd)
Jets no longer thrashing around. Jets welcome Canadiens to Winnipeg. Pavelec calls out teammates. Coach Noel not comfortable in French, but that's no controversy. Jets & Habs audio.
Next opponent news - Montreal Canadiens: Habs Cunneyworth unconcerned by French-language controversy. Quebec nationalist protest planned for upcoming Canadiens game.
Next opponent news - Montreal Canadiens: Habs Cunneyworth unconcerned by French-language controversy. Quebec nationalist protest planned for upcoming Canadiens game.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/iPFP8B7pmwQ/
Hall, JoeJoe Hall Harold Hal Trumble Harvey, DougDoug Harvey Hawerchuk, DaleDale Hawerchuk Hay, GeorgeGeorge Hay
Reed Review 12/27- Fresh Look: Canada vs Finland
With a brand new World Juniors the proverbial slate has been wiped clean for Team Canada. A fresh new coach and a squad full of under experienced teenagers join the ranks of former greats playing at this prestigious event. Game one of the journey to potential gold began yesterday afternoon as a late Christmas present [...]
Source: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/mattreed/41867/
Boucher, GuyGuy Boucher Boudreau, BruceBruce Boudreau Bourque, RayRay Bourque Bower, JohnnyJohnny Bower Bowie, Russell Russell Bowie
The secret agenda from this week's GM meetings
While Burke's new acquisition was only 10 inches
tall and completely immobile, the critics had to
agree that he did upgrade the goaltending.
tall and completely immobile, the critics had to
agree that he did upgrade the goaltending.
But what exactly were they talking about? As always, the meeting was closed to the media. And while some GMs did offer brief comments to reporters about what was discussed, league policy is that the official agenda is never released to the public.
Until now, that is. DGB spies were in attendance, and they were able to pass on a copy of the full day's schedule:
9:00 a.m. - Opening remarks from Gary Bettman: "Well, at least we're not the NBA!"
9:30 a.m. - Opening remarks from Donald Fehr: "? for one more year."
10:00 a.m. - Buffalo GM Darcy Regier presents an argument in favour of stricter penalties for hits against goaltenders such as the recent one by Milan Lucic against Ryan Miller, including an ominous threat that the Sabres may now be forced to seek retribution during their next game against Boston.
10:02 a.m. - Everyone in the room tries really hard to keep a straight face at the idea that the Sabres have anyone on the roster who's going to scare the Bruins.
10:03 a.m. - Everyone fails.
10:30 a.m. - Islanders' GM Garth Snow presents a detailed proposal entitled "Look, I'm not singling anyone out, but the next CBA really needs a way for us to cancel horrible long-term contracts given to goaltenders."
10:31 a.m. - Mike Gillis slowly sits down after realizing he's the only one participating in the enthusiastic standing ovation.
11:00 a.m. - Group discussion: "Hey guys, remember how before this CBA when GMs all got together in a room there used to be these things called 'trades', and it was really fun and entertaining and the fans loved it? Yeah, me neither."
12:00 noon - Lunch, unless Pierre Gauthier fired the caterer an hour before he was supposed to start work.
1:00 p.m. - A discussion about the trap, and whether it could be responsible for creating a dull brand of defensive-minded hockey that will lower scoring and drive away a generation of fans.
1:20 p.m. - A discussion about why we didn't have the previous discussion 15 years ago.
1:31 p.m. - Flyers' GM Paul Holmgrem notices what time it is and abruptly refuses to continue participating.
2:00 p.m. - Group discussion: "Changing the icing rules so defencemen stop getting their legs snapped in half for no reason: Let's all try really hard to pretend we're actually considering it this year."
2:30 p.m. - "Point: Brendan Shanahan is doing a wonderful job!" - A joint presentation by every GM who hasn't had a player suspended yet this year.
2:40 p.m. - "Counterpoint: Brendan Shanahan is doing a terrible job!" - A joint presentation by every GM who has had a player suspended this year.
2:50 p.m. - "Hey, why don't we all watch some old YouTube clips of Brendan Shanahan from his playing days repeatedly punching people in the face because they got on his nerves" - A presentation by Brendan Shanahan
3:00 p.m. - Question period with Brendan Shanahan. (Note: There will be no questions.)
3:05 p.m. - Hey, now might be a good time for somebody to go check on the room where all the GMs dropped off their grandchildren with some paper and crayons, and see which one has successfully designed the next New York Islander third jerseys.
3:45 p.m. - Scott Howson tentatively raises his hand to ask why the Columbus invitation to the next meeting in a few months was addressed to "occupant".
4:30 p.m. - A special closing presentation by former Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr.: "How my failure to recognize the obvious need for a complete rebuild turned out to be a catastrophic mistake from which the team has never fully recovered even to this day".
4:35 p.m. - Jay Feaster awkwardly begins to wonder why everyone in the room is staring at him.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DownGoesBrown/~3/rgYx8RnRhVE/secret-agenda-from-this-weeks-gm.html
Hern, RileyRiley Hern Hextall, BryanBryan Hextall Hobey Baker Holmes, HapHap Holmes Hooper, TomTom Hooper
Winnipeg Jets Afternoon News (Wednesday, Dec 21st)
Teemu blogs in Finnish about his time in Winnipeg. Meet the Jets. Noel mum on Habs coaching controversy. Time to spread some Christmas cheer. Rare achievement for Nabokov in win. Islanders goalie Al Montoya has a concussion.
Next opponent news - Montreal Canadiens: Habs limp into Chicago. In tough against Blackhawks.
Next opponent news - Montreal Canadiens: Habs limp into Chicago. In tough against Blackhawks.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IllegalCurve/~3/P7NwyngAg3Y/
Carl Cully Dahlstrom Carlyle, RandyRandy Carlyle Charles Charlie Holt Charles Schulz Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers
Video: This 3-year-old knows San Jose Sharks better than you
On the adorability scale, this 3-year-old San Jose Sharks fan ranks somewhere between Joey Junior Blackhawks Reporter and that little Penguins fan that freaked out when his parents revealed themselves as loyal to the Red Wings. Here is hockey parenting at its finest:
You nearly had us at "Patwick MAHLEAU!" You definitely had us at "Marc-Edwah VLASIC!"
OK, so it was bad enough Dan Girardi made every hockey parent jealous on HBO 24/7 because his little 2-year-old can take one-timers like he's Steven Stamkos. Now we've got a 3-year-old who says "Niittymaki" better than half the play-by-play guys in the League.
Parental inferiority complexes, on the rise ...
s/t reader Sara Anderson for the clip.
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion George Brown George Owen Gerard, EddieEddie Gerard Giacomin, EddieEddie Giacomin
Don't Look Now ... Rangers #1 In East!
I was going to post this in the morning but with late games tonight, the standings could always change before the morning. So here you go, feel free to stare at it long and hard .... I did!
via @pickledotcom
Source: http://puckcentral.blogspot.com/2011/11/dont-look-now-rangers-1-in-east.html
Dryden, KenKen Dryden Duff, DickDick Duff Dumart, WoodyWoody Dumart Dunderdale, TommyTommy Dunderdale Durnan, BillBill Durnan
A brief history of player/coach feuds
"Big silver trophy, about this wide... really, none
of you have any idea what I'm talking about?"
of you have any idea what I'm talking about?"
After Boudreau decided to bench him during a crucial shift late in the game, Ovechkin appeared to react to the news by barking some well-chosen obscenities in the coach's direction. While the two later made an effort to seem like they were on the same page, that didn't stop fans and the media from speculating about a rift that could divide one of the league's best teams.
An overreaction? Probably. But whether Ovechkin and Boudreau are feuding or not shouldn't even matter, because this sort of thing actually happens all the time. The NHL has a long history of disagreements between superstar players and their coaches, and many of them were far more serious than a few expletives uttered in the heat of the moment.
Here's a look back at some of the notable star vs. coach feuds in NHL history.
November 18, 2003 - An enraged Scott Stevens accuses Devils' coach Pat Burns of not being a first ballot Hall of Famer, before later apologizing and admitting that could only happen in a world where the selection committee was made up entirely of idiots.
October 26, 2011 - Alain Vigneault's attempt to fire up his best goaltender during a private meeting in his office is ruined by Roberto Luongo constantly knocking on the door and asking "Hey guys, what are you two talking about in there?"
February 4, 1978 - Bruins' defenceman Brad Park finds himself in the doghouse after coach Don Cherry realizes his name is completely impossible to mispronounce.
December 7, 2008 - Team captain Daniel Alfredsson request a one-hour meeting with the head coach to discuss his declining ice-time, but eventually gets tired of having to start over again every fifteen minutes whenever Bryan Murray hires someone new.
February 27, 2001 - Martin St. Louis is momentarily confused by the sight of a red-faced John Tortorella gesturing furiously while screaming obscenities at him, before veteran teammates reassure him that that's just how the coach says good morning.
January 30, 1996 - Blues' coach Mike Keenan tersely informs Brett Hull that he's never going to win anything if he keeps scoring goals with his foot in the crease and hoping the referees will just magically forget about a rule that's been in the books for years.
October 12, 2011 - Paul Maurice tries to diffuse some tension with Eric Staal by joking that at least this year's Hurricanes aren't as inept as those hopeless losers he was stuck with in Toronto a few years ago, before wondering why half the dressing room is just staring at him sadly instead of laughing.
April 5, 1986 - A concerned Mark Messier tells Oilers' coach Glen Sather that while he agrees the team's unquestioned dominance does result in them occasionally becoming complacent, he's still not sold on this whole "let's occasionally score into our own net just to make it more challenging" plan.
March 3, 2006 - A confused Mike Babcock begins to wonder why Brendan Shanahan won't accept anything he says unless it's accompanied by an awkward video-taped explanation.
January 14, 2009 - After an obscenity-filled exchange ends with head coach Wayne Gretzky suggesting he go meet with the new assistant, Shane Doan thinks about how much he appreciates being able to air his grievances and makes a mental note to apologize for his harsh tone and briefly wonders why the new assistant coach looks so much like Dave Semenko holding a crowbar.
November 2, 2011 - Jets' coach Claude Noel spends hours attempting to chew out his star player before sheepishly realizing that he doesn't have one.
January 28, 1994 - After Pavel Bure complains yet again about a lack of chemistry with center Cliff Ronning, a frustrated Pat Quinn vows that if he ever coaches another European franchise player he just won't ever bother giving him any good linemates at all.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DownGoesBrown/~3/Kz1JbjminPU/brief-history-of-playercoach-feuds.html
Bossy, MikeMike Bossy Bouchard, EmileEmile Bouchard Boucher, BuckBuck Boucher Boucher, FrankFrank Boucher Boucher, GuyGuy Boucher
Upcoming NHL records and milestones
Every Hab, photographed from five feet high.
With several hockey legends winding down their careers and a new generation of stars just hitting their prime, some of the game's most cherished records and milestones are within reach. So if you've ever wanted a chance to see history be made, now may be a good time to tune in.
Here are a few of the upcoming records and milestones that fans may have a chance to witness during the 2011-12 season.
Marc Savard - Is just one assist away from 500 for his career, which he should get this season if you're willing to count him assisting Matt Cooke in becoming known as "that jerk who ended Marc Savard's career".
Craig Anderson - Is currently 2,100 goals away from breaking the all-time record for goals allowed in a career, so given how the Senators' season is going so far let's just go ahead and pencil him in for next Friday.
Ray Whitney - Has a chance to join the 1,000 point club this year, which would be a memorable moment for him since it would be guaranteed to happen against a team he once played for.
Adam Oates - Out of all current Hall Of Fame-eligible players, his 1,420 career points will once again make him by far the all-time leader among those angrily standing in line to purchase admission.
Arron Asham - Is apparently going to try to break the NHL record for most time's miming a "make you go to sleep" motion, previously set in 1995 by Lou Lamoriello while explaining the Devil's defensive philosophy for the next decade.
Sean Avery - His recent demotion to the AHL allowed him to become the all-time leader in fashion sense among minor league hockey players, beating out that guy in 2002 who did his laundry once.
Nicklas Lidstrom - Will reach the 1,500 game milestone tomorrow night, which is great because he's always seemed like a good kid and it will be nice to see him finally accomplish something.
Brendan Shanahan - At the current pace, his "Brendan Shanahan Explains a Suspension" series will have produced more episodes than The Simpsons by mid-December.
Hal Gill - The Canadiens defenceman played in his 1,000th career game last night, an achievement that was honoured during a touching pre-game ceremony in which a commemorative banner was raised to the rafters until he complained that it was blocking his view.
Roberto Luongo - Will be attempting to win 16 playoff games this year the way great goaltenders do, instead of winning 15 playoff games the way completely terrible goaltenders do.
Calgary Flames - Even though experts have long considered it one of hockey's most unbreakable records, have apparently decided to try to set the all-time mark for most Jay Bouwmeesters on the roster of a playoff team.
Paul Bissonnette - Recently set an NHL player's Twitter record for the most fans replied to, at 5,000, as well as the most fans replied to who are not attractive women wearing bikinis in their profile photo, at three.
Ondrej Pavelec - With a solid year, he has a shot at breaking the franchise record for wins in a season by a Winnipeg Jets goalie that's currently held by Kari Lehtonen, or maybe Ilya Bryzgalov, oh wait Bob Essensa, actually you know what let's just never speak of this again.
Mike Milbury - He recently argued that any attempt to reduce hockey violence will ruin the sport forever. Oh wait, sorry, that's the other kind of broken record.
Phil Kessel - His hot start has given him an chance at breaking the record for most times being mentioned by name in media stories about Phil Kessel, which for the last two years has been held by Tyler Seguin.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DownGoesBrown/~3/5DRsfglmoUU/upcoming-nhl-records-and-milestones.html
Bucyk, JohnnyJohnny Bucyk Buffalo Sabres Burch, BillyBilly Burch Bylsma, DanDan Bylsma Calvin Cal Marvin
Upcoming NHL records and milestones
Every Hab, photographed from five feet high.
With several hockey legends winding down their careers and a new generation of stars just hitting their prime, some of the game's most cherished records and milestones are within reach. So if you've ever wanted a chance to see history be made, now may be a good time to tune in.
Here are a few of the upcoming records and milestones that fans may have a chance to witness during the 2011-12 season.
Marc Savard - Is just one assist away from 500 for his career, which he should get this season if you're willing to count him assisting Matt Cooke in becoming known as "that jerk who ended Marc Savard's career".
Craig Anderson - Is currently 2,100 goals away from breaking the all-time record for goals allowed in a career, so given how the Senators' season is going so far let's just go ahead and pencil him in for next Friday.
Ray Whitney - Has a chance to join the 1,000 point club this year, which would be a memorable moment for him since it would be guaranteed to happen against a team he once played for.
Adam Oates - Out of all current Hall Of Fame-eligible players, his 1,420 career points will once again make him by far the all-time leader among those angrily standing in line to purchase admission.
Arron Asham - Is apparently going to try to break the NHL record for most time's miming a "make you go to sleep" motion, previously set in 1995 by Lou Lamoriello while explaining the Devil's defensive philosophy for the next decade.
Sean Avery - His recent demotion to the AHL allowed him to become the all-time leader in fashion sense among minor league hockey players, beating out that guy in 2002 who did his laundry once.
Nicklas Lidstrom - Will reach the 1,500 game milestone tomorrow night, which is great because he's always seemed like a good kid and it will be nice to see him finally accomplish something.
Brendan Shanahan - At the current pace, his "Brendan Shanahan Explains a Suspension" series will have produced more episodes than The Simpsons by mid-December.
Hal Gill - The Canadiens defenceman played in his 1,000th career game last night, an achievement that was honoured during a touching pre-game ceremony in which a commemorative banner was raised to the rafters until he complained that it was blocking his view.
Roberto Luongo - Will be attempting to win 16 playoff games this year the way great goaltenders do, instead of winning 15 playoff games the way completely terrible goaltenders do.
Calgary Flames - Even though experts have long considered it one of hockey's most unbreakable records, have apparently decided to try to set the all-time mark for most Jay Bouwmeesters on the roster of a playoff team.
Paul Bissonnette - Recently set an NHL player's Twitter record for the most fans replied to, at 5,000, as well as the most fans replied to who are not attractive women wearing bikinis in their profile photo, at three.
Ondrej Pavelec - With a solid year, he has a shot at breaking the franchise record for wins in a season by a Winnipeg Jets goalie that's currently held by Kari Lehtonen, or maybe Ilya Bryzgalov, oh wait Bob Essensa, actually you know what let's just never speak of this again.
Mike Milbury - He recently argued that any attempt to reduce hockey violence will ruin the sport forever. Oh wait, sorry, that's the other kind of broken record.
Phil Kessel - His hot start has given him an chance at breaking the record for most times being mentioned by name in media stories about Phil Kessel, which for the last two years has been held by Tyler Seguin.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DownGoesBrown/~3/5DRsfglmoUU/upcoming-nhl-records-and-milestones.html
Gardiner, HerbHerb Gardiner Gardner, JimmyJimmy Gardner Gartner, MikeMike Gartner Gary Gambucci Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion
Disgrace: ESPN SportsCenter Year in Review snubs hockey tragedies
ESPN SportsCenter dedicates roughly the time it will take you to finish this sentence to the NHL on a nightly basis. That established, we didn't expect to see much coverage of hockey on SportsCenter's 2011 Year In Review, which debuted this week; but we did expect to see the stories that transcended hockey to receive their due.
So when it came time to honor those figures in sports that died in 2011, one assumed there would be names like Derek Boogaard (who died May 18 of an accidental overdose) or Rick Rypien (who took his life on Aug. 15), active players at the time of their deaths; Wade Belak (found dead on Aug. 31), who was playing in the NHL back when it was still on ESPN; and the 43 men who played for the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl that perished in a plane crash, killing an entire professional sports team.
Here are the names mentioned In Memoriam by ESPN in its Year in Review:
? Al Davis
? Bubba Smith
? Dan Wheldon
? John Mackey
? Lee Roy Selmon
? Hideki Irabu
? Dave Duerson
? Duke Snider
? Walt Hazzard
? Harmon Killebrew
? Joe Frazier
Not. A. Single. Hockey. Player.
The question then becomes, "why?" Did the suicidal aspects of hockey's summer of tragedy disqualify them? It can't be: Duerson and Irabu both took their lives and made the montage.
Was it a notoriety issue? Even the most ardent puckheads will agree that the three players we lost during the summer didn't have the name recognition of the baseball and football Hall of Famers on this list. But what sports fan wouldn't agree that the death of an entire team, that featured over a dozen former NHL players, wouldn't rise to a level of notoriety that mandates their inclusion in a year in review?
But nothing. Nothing on Lokomotiv, Boogaard, Rypien or Belak.
Literally nothing on hockey for long stretches of SportsCenter's Year in Sports.
Nothing on Sidney Crosby's concussion, until it was referenced without context in the final moments of the show.
Notable Newcomers? Nope. ESPN found time for a WNBA player but not for either Logan Couture or Jeff Skinner.
The "new landscape" of NCAA Football in 2012-14 was discussed, but not NHL realignment or relocation. Kirk Herbstreit talked about how this might be the year the BCS is scrapped; never mind the NHL actually did vote to scrap its playoff format.
Famous quotes? Nope. "Tire-pumping" evidently has no place on SportsCenter, despite having defined the two goaltenders in the Stanley Cup Final.
News of these snubs started hitting the hockey community during the holiday, but we wanted to see the magnitude of these omissions ourselves. What did make the cut for hockey on ESPN's Year in Review?
? Bobby Ryan's goal vs. Nashville was the No. 10 play of the year.
? The own-goals by Erik Johnson and Victor Hedman were tied for the No. 6 goofs of the year.
? The Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara was featured kissing the Cup to lead off the show in a montage; the Bruins were mentioned by name during the "hey, these teams won a title" segment; and then a Tim Thomas save and Chara again kissing the Cup were featured in the end-of-show "champions" montage.
? Sidney Crosby's comeback game against the Islanders was shown briefly in the "champions" montage at the end, with a goal he scored and his curtain call.
And that's it. No concussions or Shanabans or the Winter Classic or former Sabres driving their SUVs on three wheels after leaving a bar. (OK, we kinda get why that wasn't featured.)
But hey, we got a 5-minute segment about how exasperated ESPN's talking heads were over Tim Tebow's winning streak. So that's something.
Look, this is no mystery. ESPN promotes its products on SportsCenter; the NHL is not one of those products. Combine that with apathy for hockey on ESPN's television properties and by its television executives, and it earns a small pittance of time on the Year In Review.
SportsCenter doesn't care about hockey* beyond Sidney Crosby and the team that wins the Stanley Cup. Every hockey fan in America knows this. But that's OK. NHL Network and VERSUS have nightly highlights shows. NHL.com has every play from every game. The world has changed so we don't have to rely on ESPN or the local news for those glorious seconds of NHL coverage in-between basketball highlights. (And we think to ourselves, "what a wonderful world ?")
"The Worldwide Leader in Sports" neglected to cover the death of an entire hockey team in a plane crash in its year in review, but found time to feature lines from Deion Sanders' NFL induction speech.
Three times.
That's a disgrace.
* We have to offer our usual caveat about ESPN here: That you shouldn't paint ESPN.com with the same feces-covered brush you might use on the television side when it comes to hockey. LeBrun, Burnside, Custance and others provide tremendous coverage online. Ditto Bill Simmons, who found his love of puck again, and Katie Baker on Grantland. They don't get a final edit on the television product -- well, Simmons does, and we get great stuff like the Gretzky 30-for-30 --� or a seat in the yelling chair on "Around The Horn." There are people at ESPN who give a damn about hockey, even if ESPN apparently doesn't give a damn about it. To that end: Occupy John Buccigross!
Goheen, MooseMoose Goheen Goodfellow, EbbieEbbie Goodfellow Gordie Roberts Goulet, MichelMichel Goulet Granato, CammiCammi Granato
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Potential issues in the next NHL CBA
After several awkward minutes, Fehr realized that
"high five me if you love escrow" was a bad idea.
"high five me if you love escrow" was a bad idea.
That comes on the heels of recent agreements that saw both the NFL and MLB sign new deals without missing any games. So with three of North America's big four sports leagues having found labour peace, all eyes now shift back to the NHL. With the league's current collective bargaining agreement set to expire before next season, hockey fans are hoping that negotiations go more smoothly than they did the last time around.
So what will be the major issues in the next NHL CBA? That depends on who you talk to. As it turns out, everyone seems to have a different opinion on which issues should be top priorities. Here's a look at what various stakeholders around the NHL say they'd like to see changed in the league's next CBA:
Brendan Shanahan - Would like to increase the maximum player fine from the current $2,500; failing that, would at least like the players to stop paying it by grabbing a fistful of spare change, throwing it at me from their car window, then laughing and speeding off.
Alexander Ovechkin - I've repeatedly argued that the NHL give Russian players the chance to compete in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, although to be honest you should probably also check with some of the guys who will make the team.
Kyle Turris - Pass a rule banning pointless holdouts where the player misses two months and doesn't get anything he was asking for, or at least have someone tell my agent that you did.
Scott Gomez - Realize that buyouts of guaranteed contracts will be up for discussion in the next CBA, but would still prefer if Jacques Martin and Pierre Gauthier didn't dramatically pack a suitcase for me during every intermission "just in case".
ESPN - Wait, did you say the 2004-2005 lockout ended? I guess we probably should have been showing some highlights or something over the last seven years.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Losing another season would be an absolute last resort, but if it comes to that let's make just sure that our old pal Gary gets to run the draft lottery again, wink wink. Wait, don't write that last part down.
Cory Schneider - So a work stoppage is when you just sit around every night and don't ever get to play any actual hockey? Hmm, I guess I should go ask Roberto what that's like.
Donald Fehr - Nothing helps set the stage for a long day of negotiating like an extra-large coffee first thing in the morning, but it's still kind of awkward to pull up to that drive-through window on days that Paul Kelly is working.
Phoenix Coyotes - Don't really care what's in next season's CBA, but are going to need to make sure it's translated into French. Uh, no reason.
Buffalo Sabres - Since we're renegotiating things, any chance we could update "the code" so that your goalie getting run over doesn't somehow make you obligated to let all the Boston Bruins punch you in the face repeatedly the next time you play?
Jay Feaster - We definitely need some sort of new rule where you're allowed to trade old, overpaid players for younger, cheaper ones. Wait, what? Oh man, since when?
Gary Bettman - Already know that Donald Fehr has a history of tough negotiating on behalf of his players without much regard for the impact on the league and its teams, so there's really no need for him to rub it in by wearing a Montreal Expos cap to every bargaining session.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DownGoesBrown/~3/L2NFqOGpzKc/potential-issues-in-next-nhl-cba.html
Fuhr, GrantGrant Fuhr Gadsby, BillBill Gadsby Gainey, BobBob Gainey Gardiner, CharlieCharlie Gardiner Gardiner, HerbHerb Gardiner
Detroit Red Wings Week In Review
At the Christmas break, the Detroit Red Wings (21-12-1) are currently in third place in the Central Division with 43 points and they now stand in sixth place in the Western Conference.� With back-to-back losses on the road to Vancouver and Calgary, it’s no secret that the Red Wings need to pick it up and [...]
Source: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/puckstopper1/41817/
Barry, MartyMarty Barry Bathgate, AndyAndy Bathgate Bauer, BobbyBobby Bauer Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau Benedict, ClintClint Benedict
Case against Mike Milbury dismissed due to lack of evidence
Last Friday, it was reported that Mike Milbury had been charged with allegedly assaulting a child at a local hockey rink. The report stated that Milbury had "verbally berated and grabbed and shook" the alleged victim.
This Friday, The Boston Herald has reported that all the charges against Milbury have been dropped. From the Herald:
Milbury's legal team announced this afternoon that a clerk magistrate at Brookline District Court has ruled there is not enough evidence to move ahead in the case.
Milbury addressed the media right after saying the incident was just "an unfortunate misunderstanding."
Friday, Friday, charges thrown out on Friday.
I'll admit I'm a little disappointed. Not because I have any ill will toward Milbury -- simply because I wanted to see the shoe from his famed fan attack entered into evidence. I've seen lawyer shows. I know how it goes. (Defense: "objection!"�Prosecution: "It goes to character, your honour.")
Instead, Milbury will have the dream weekend: Christmas with the family and the assault case dismissed.
And here's the good news for you Milbury acolytes out there. You won't have to wait long for his triumphant return. The Herald, again:
When asked when he will be back on the air as a hockey analyst, Milbury said he was saving his voice for "Christmas caroling."
His attorney, Mark Berthiaume, said the magistrate ruled there was no probable cause to take the next step in court.
"Mike and his family are are happy to move on," said Berthiaume. "Mike will be returning to work on the air very, very soon."
One assumes that Milbury's comeback will be unlike Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux's comebacks. Those guys had four points. Milbury very rarely has one, amirite y'all?
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau Benedict, ClintClint Benedict Bentley, DougDoug Bentley Bentley, MaxMax Bentley Blake, ToeToe Blake
Who won?t win the Stanley Cup?
In the last 20+ years, we have never had a Stanley Cup winner with less than a +25 goal differential in the regular season. The Penguins win over the Red Wings in 2009 was the lowest of the 20 years with a +25. How about the loser? Well for the losers there have been various goal differentials. For the most part they?ve all had a positive goal differential too. There are three exceptions. Carolina in 01-02 lost to Detroit and had a 217/217 GF/GA. In 92-93 Los Angeles lost to Montreal with a negative differential 338/340 GF/GA. The Kings gave up a lot of goals that year, only three teams gave up more goals than them that season. In 90-91 the Minnesota North Stars (remember them) had a negative 10 differential 256/266 GF/GA and a 27-39-14 record (yikes!). Of course that year there were only 10 teams in the West so all but two teams got in the playoffs.
Source: http://puckingawesome.com/2011/04/09/who-wont-win-the-stanley-cup/
Horner, RedRed Horner Horton, TimTim Horton Howe, GordieGordie Howe Howe, SydSyd Howe Howell, HarryHarry Howell
What We Learned: Fun while it lasted, but here come the Canucks
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.
As of right now, the Minnesota Wild still lead their division. But it seems like the clock is just a tick or two from midnight.
That's because the Canucks are at long last recovering from their excruciatingly slow start, at the exact time the Wild's incredible run of early-season success is fading from memory.
Through Nov. 4 the Canucks were 6-7-1 and Roberto Luongo was being pelted with garbage on the streets of Vancouver (and all of it was getting by him). His start was really, really bad and that was reflected in the standings. On that day, the Canucks were 10th in the Western Conference and fourth in the Northwest behind division-leading Edmonton (remember those days?!), Minnesota and Colorado. But since that day, the reigning Western Conference champions have played like it.
In a turnaround that's near-Bruinslike in its impressiveness, the Canucks have rattled off a 15-5-1 record in their last 21, and more or less erased all doubts as to who will be winning that division ?�and probably that conference ? come April.
The Wild, meanwhile, can blame injuries and whatever else they like on their current run, in which they've won none of their last six, but really, it's time for them and their fans to start being honest with themselves.
Even with the very nice offseason acquisitions of Dany Heatley and half the other Sharks, this never seemed like a team that should be the best in the Northwest, let alone leading the West and indeed the entire NHL as it did.
The Wild seemed to luck into an awful lot of wins despite a dreadful power play (as is their wont, historically) and their tendency to get outshot by wide margins nearly every time they've gone out this season.
(Coming Up: Ron Wilson is a pain in the ass; Jason Chimera leads the Caps in scoring; Steve Yzmerman wont blow up Lightning; Stan Bowman wants to shuffle a good deck; Karlsson's simple tastes; Darryl Sutter's ill-suited debut; Kim Jong-Un could coach the Habs; using the holidays to feel better about Columbus; the Ducks lead the league in self-pity; Ruutu's tip; the Bruins are unstoppable; Kari Lehtonen hearts Steve Ott; Dubinsky seeks resurgence; and some World Juniors trash talk.)
There was a stretch earlier this season where they won seven games in a row while being outshot by about 10 SOG per night, on average. It's unsustainable and insane that they were able to keep things going that long. Not that being short Mikko Koivu, Devin Setoguchi and Guillaume Latendresse for an extended period of time isn't a huge blow to a low-offense team, obviously.
The team was also extremely fortunate to get the schedule it did so far this year. The Wild played 14 of their first 24 games at home, and have seen that even out considerably in the last few weeks, as nine of their last 12 have been on the road. That will wear on any team, especially one with injuries. Which goes a long way toward explaining this current four-game road losing streak in which they've looked downright awful. Only having 42 goals for in 19 road games (good for 19th in the league), though, is no way to win over the course of a season. Neither is having 40 in 17 home games.
This was a team playing well above its head for the first two or three months of the season, and as nice as it was to see, things are returning to their natural order. The Sedins are once again scoring like madmen with 38 combined points in December, and consequently the power play is once again tops in the league at 25.7 percent (3.2 points better than second-best Nashville). Ryan Kesler continues to be a dominant all-around forward that's among the best at his job in the National Hockey League. And, perhaps most importantly, Roberto Luongo hasn't turned in a bad performance in nearly a month.
Minnesota, much like Colorado did a few years ago, has probably built enough of a case for itself as a playoff team that, even if they were to collapse back to earth in the fashion most have come to expect, they're probably safe enough to make the playoffs. Based on last year's threshold, they'll only need 42 more points from their remaining 46 games. That's doable for even a mediocre team, which is something the Wild decidedly are. The good news for the Wild is that the Northwest Division is probably big enough for the both of them.
The good news for the rest of us is that, just in time for the New Year, the NHL is starting to make sense again.
What We Learned
Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks lead the league in feeling sorry for yourself. "If you're not winning, it's tough to feel good about yourself," sulked�Jonas Hiller.�"You need that experience of having success to start feeling good about yourself.�On the other hand, when we had a couple�of good games, we always were never able to keep that good feeling and we kind of found a way to lose again." They have five wins since Oct. 17.
Boston Bruins: The Bruins started the season 3-7-0, and since then have gone 20-2-1. Remarkable. And the two regulation losses were consecutive. During this 23-game stretch, they've outscored opponents 95-38. What?
Buffalo Sabres: Thomas Vanek might play later today against Washington but he's day-to-day with an upper body injury that held him out of Thursday's game with Toronto.
Calgary Flames: Nobody make any sudden movements to scare them off, but the Flames have won their last two games. Against Detroit and Vancouver. They're 9-3-3 in their last 15 if you can believe it.
Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes turned in a strong performance in Friday's game with Ottawa but still needed overtime to pull out a W. Tuomo Ruutu with a nice tip-in for the game-winner though.
Chicago Blackhawks: Stan Bowman is already looking to work a bunch of trades to make his team better. Because teams that are 8-1-1 in their last 10 and have the most points in the league need to get aggressive.
Colorado Avalanche: Would you have guessed that the Avalanche are an awesome home team all of a sudden? They've won eight in a row at Pepsi Center after starting the season 4-9-0 there.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Talk about a bummer holiday message -- "If you can't get pucks out of your mind for two whole days, strip away the record, the results ... the reality of this season. Instead, think about how cool it is that Columbus has an NHL franchise, that the best players in the world play here." Well?
Dallas Stars: There's a heartwarming story about how Steve Ott and Kari Lehtonen first met at the World Juniors tournament. "I played against him two years," Lehtonen said. I don't remember which game it was, but he was shooting at me while I was trying to stretch during the warmups. He kept shooting pucks at me." Which just goes to show how low-rent the Canadian junior team is.
Detroit Red Wings Presented by Amway: The only thing Mike Babcock liked about the team's swing through Western Canada was the play of Darren Helm, Danny Cleary and Drew Miller. That's a really bad sign.
Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers snapped a four-game losing streak against Minnesota on Thursday and now face a colossal seven-game road trip. The fact that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle have just 30 points on the road this season (compared with 62 at home) won't help matters.
Florida Panthers: Will Jason Garrison be selected as an all-star? I sure hope so. He leads defensemen in goals this season with 10. That number would put him tied for 75th among forwards, beside the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Anze Kopitar and Rick Nash.
Los Angeles Kings: Darryl Sutter is 1-0 as Kings coach and was even almost affable. "I told them, you guys have to pay attention, I'll get Mike Richards and Brad Richardson mixed up," he said. Of course, he also wore an ugly suit for the game, so some things never change.
Minnesota Wild: Jason Zucker, a Wild prospect, has been named captain of the US World Junior team, making him the world's greatest U20 player. He is wonderful and cool and we should all love him and support him.
Montreal Canadiens: Great article about how ridiculous the Canadiens coaching situation is. It posits that Mitt Romney, who once lived in France, and Kim Jong-Un, who claims to be able to speak many languages, could be candidates at season's end.
Nashville Predators: Beautiful pass from Colin Wilson to set up this David Legwand goal on Friday night.
New Jersey Devils: On Friday, Anton Volchenkov took a shot off the face. Or would have, except he was wearing a visor. What a novel concept. Wearing a plastic thing over your face keeps things from hitting your face. "Weird," says Chris Pronger and Marty St. Louis.
New York Islanders: Isles prospect Ryan Strome wants to make a difference at World Juniors, which start today. Too bad he is Canadian and therefore the worst.
New York Rangers: Brandon Dubinsky has just two goals and 16 points in 33 games this season but might be ready to break out. He says it's because he wasn't moving his legs enough. Hockey players are adorable.
Ottawa Senators: Erik Karlsson has gotten some nice Christmas gifts since moving to North America to play in the NHL, but his favorite came from Dany Alfredsson's family. "A T-shirt my first year. I wear it all the time." A man of extremely simple tastes.
Philadelphia Flyers: It's not gonna snow in Philly for the Winter Classic. Best part of the article is this though: "For the NHL, the challenge is to figure out which market receives the event." It's true. The event has to be both In the Eastern Conference (since Chicago already got one), more specifically, in the Northeast or Atlantic, in a city with a large outdoor stadium, not in New York City, and in America. There are as many as FOUR cities that can host this thing!
Phoenix Coyotes: Keith Tkachuk was honored by the Coyotes on Friday, and says he's enjoying retirement immensely. "That low center of gravity's not little anymore," Tkachuk said.
Pittsburgh Penguins: How about the Crosby-less play of Evgeni Malkin, huh? Since Sid went back on the shelf after Dec. 5, Malkin has 6-10-16 in seven games. Real strong.
San Jose Sharks: The Sharks have won four straight and are tied for the division lead, but I feel like we haven't heard much about them this year. It's not like they've even been especially bad for long stretches. Very strange.
St. Louis Blues: Andy McDonald skated on Friday, which was his first time on the ice since suffering a concussion on Oct. 13. He's missed 31 games after taking the knock, which was his second concussion in 10 months.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Steve Yzerman says that just because the team stinks this year doesn't mean he's going to blow it up. If anything, he thinks the Bolts can still compete for the playoffs and will try to improve them.
Toronto Maple Leafs: No one on earth is a bigger or better pain in the ass to his team's fans than Ron Wilson, who tweeted on Christmas morning, "'He came! He came!' Remember saying that as a little kid? Well he did: I got a new Red Ryder BB gun and a contract extension!" Genius.
Vancouver Canucks: Henrik Sedin is now tied with Brendan Morrison for the Canucks' all-time iron man with 534 straight games played. The last time he missed a game was before the lockout.
Washington Capitals: People still can't believe that Jason Chimera is the Caps' leading goalscorer, and rightly so I guess. He's two ahead of Alex Ovechkin.
Winnipeg Jets: The Jets are two points out of a playoff spot but it seems even the cheerleader Winnipeg media is finally getting an understanding of what this team actually is.
Gold Star Award
Know who gets this ahead of World Juniors? America does. Go America. Crush your foreign enemies.
Minus of the Weekend
Canada. I mean just look at them. Gross and awful, the lot of them.
Play of the Weekend
Benoit Pouliot is starting to look like a $1.1 million bargain for the Bruins.
He has goals in his last three games and is playing spectacular all-around hockey.
Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week
User "Hulk Hogan" has a great idea.
To Tampa:
To Buffalo:
Vincent Lecavalier
I love it, brother!
Signoff
Why are you acting insane and threatening to cut my throat?!
Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness rather infrequently over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don't you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.
Carlyle, RandyRandy Carlyle Charles Charlie Holt Charles Schulz Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers Ciccarelli, DinoDino Ciccarelli
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