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Rask and Varlamov topping rookie lists
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, NHL,
The rookies in the NHL are making a huge impression on the fans nationwide. Everybody knows what John Tavares is doing for the Islanders as well as Niclas Bergfors in New Jersey, but there are two freshman goaltenders making a splash as well – Washington’s Semyon Varlamov and Boston’s Tuukka Rask. Both were first-round draft picks; Rask in 2005 and Varlamov in 2006, and both are dominating shooters across the league.
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Leafs rising from the depths of the east
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Editorial, NHL,
The time of the Maple Leafs is now. Toronto is arguably the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, and with some aggressive offensive play from youngster Phil Kessel and sorely missed quality goaltending from primary net-minder Vesa Toskala, the Leafs are quickly turning an abysmal 1-7-5 start into something salvageable by New Years, and beyond that, who knows? The upcoming problem for the Leafs though – as if they didn’t have enough – is that their January schedule looks about as rough as their October ended up being.
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Hockey in Phoenix will go on
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Editorial, Front Office, NHL, Rumors,
It looks like the Phoenix Coyotes will be staying in Glendale, Arizona for the foreseeable future. That bodes well for the NHL, who not only suffered an embarrassing victory against multi-millionaire Jim Ballsillie this past summer over team ownership, but they also have a multi-decade deal in place for the Coyotes’ home, Jobing.com Arena. The league has reportedly reached an agreement with former bid-mates Ice Edge Holdings that will see Ice Edge take ownership of the team.
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Boucher blowing big break
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Injuries, NHL,
It’s about time Brian Boucher became Philadelphia’s number one goalie. Boucher has been playing behind newly-acquired Ray Emery for most of the season, but with Emery’s recent muscle tear leaving him off the ice for roughly six weeks, Boucher has been asked to step up and fill in the role as primary net-minder. With Emery out of the picture, Boucher has a chance to prove his worth. However, after a week of tests, Boucher is failing miserably.
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Overtime points are ruining the NHL
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: NHL,
Going into Saturday’s NHL games, the standings were what they were thanks in large part to the overtime and shootout loss points given to teams, which are basically the equivalent of the “participant” medal you got as a kid to not make you run home crying after getting last place in the school race. These points are ridiculous. A team wins a game and gets two points, but when a team loses after regulation play, they get a pity-point and make it difficult for those actually winning the games to rise in the standings. The Tampa Bay Lightning, with 31 overall points, have nine overtime/shootout points. Almost a third of their points have come in games in which they were the losing team. But what happens if you remove these “thanks for showing up” points from the equation?
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NHL considering renaming trophies?
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Editorial, Front Office, NHL, Rumors,
The National Hockey League has recently been reported as considering renaming some of their award trophies. While the Stanley Cup is not in jeopardy, others are being considered due to the fact that many casual fans do not know the history behind the trophies or their namesakes. The original trophies and proposed renaming is as follows: The Hart (most valuable player) for Gordie Howe, the Art Ross (most points) for Wayne Gretzky, Calder (top rookie) for Mario Lemieux, James Norris (top defenceman) for Bobby Orr, Lady Byng (most gentlemanly player) for Jean Beliveau, and the Jack Adams (coach of the year) for Scotty Bowman. The reaction to the announcement has been great, and most of it is directed at NHL commissioner of 17 years, Gary Bettman.
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McCarty calls it a career after 15 years
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, NHL,
The long and winding road has come to an end for long-time Red Wing Darren McCarty, who announced his retirement on Monday afternoon. McCarty, a 37-year old right-handed winger who was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, was part of four Stanley Cup Red Wing teams during his 15 year career. He spent his time mostly in Detroit, but he had other stops in Calgary as well as the Flint Generals in the IHL and Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL.
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Bruins up-and-down weekend sets pace for season
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Editorial, NHL,
The Boston Bruins really had their work cut out for them this weekend. With a pair of games against division rivals, the Bruins were put to a test unlike any they’ve faced this season, and the two games were polar opposites of each other. Friday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens, who were celebrating their 100-year anniversary, was a long, tough night for Boston, who lost 5-1. Then, after flying home well after midnight for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins bounced back about as high as possible, crushing Toronto 7-2.
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Voting for the All-Star Games
We’re nearing that point of the year where people begin to think about the All-Star games and the Pro Bowl. Millions of fans worldwide are sending in their votes for who they would like to see in the spotlight. It is only because of the 2010 Winter Olympics that the NHL is not having an All-Star game this season, but their selection process is similar to the other major sports. The fan-selection process is highly contested by many who argue that the fans lack the proper dedication to vote for the “true” stars in sports. But which fans are right?
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Ovechkin’s suspension negated by injury
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Front Office, NHL,
Alexander Ovechkin is injured. And suspended. On Dec. 1 against the Hurricanes, Ovechkin was the perpetrator in a knee-on-knee hit against defenseman Tim Gleason and was assessed a two-game suspension by the NHL for it. The unexpected consequence of the hit was that Ovechkin injured himself and had to leave the game. He also missed Wednesday night’s game against the Florida Panthers. The Capitals haven’t had to do anything to make the best of a bad situation. The National Hockey League did it for them.
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