While I applaud Columbus’ ingenuity in allowing fans to pay for tickets in installments, what does it say that you need an installment plan to have a few days or nights out at a hockey game? The Blue Jackets play in Ohio, a severely depressed state. The fans are there, but they’re not going to [...]

The Maple Leafs don’t have a ton going for them but one thing they do have is cap space. According to Damien Cox, a lot of NHL GMs are nervous about the global economy and about future caps, and that might make them open to dumping a huge contract and some picks for the peace [...]

Are things finally turning around for the Blues? Nothing against their two game winning streak, but it’s really too soon to say. But things finally seem to be clicking for St. Louis, in a way I don’t think we’ve seen since the first half of last season. This is the first time in a long [...]

We always talk about the NHL coaching carousel but some coaches do seem to evolve. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, who always seemed a little too player friendly to me, has taken to benching players and it seems to be working. Colorado’s Tony Granato, who replaced Quenneville in Colorado after being replaced by Quenneville (an extreme [...]

Over in Chicago, Corey Crawford, the highly regarded (by the Blackhawks, anyway) goalie is finally getting some playing time. Well he’s not really playing. He’s really backing-up. But still. He’s with the club, waiting to crack the lineup and live up to his one-time billing as Chicago’s so-called goalie of the future. Of course, during [...]

The Kings are probably one of the NHL’s bigger surprises this season. The team has a young, almost anonymous roster, yet somehow the Kings are still in the thick of things. Now, with billions (OK,millions) of dollars in cap space, the team has to start considering if it wants to grab some high-priced talent to [...]

The NHL suspending Sean Avery is not about the term “sloppy seconds.” Is that term any more offensive than Michael Nylander dropping the s-bomb on national TV in the middle of the day? Or are we supposed to believe the NHL is suddenly concerned about players portraying women as possessions? Or better yet, are we [...]

Here are some quick thoughts: Ilya Kovalchuk has got to love playing on a line with Marty Reasoner and Chris Thorburn. When I think playmaking, I think Reasoner, who’s never had more than 20 assists in a season. I get that Kovalchuk is a mess in the defensive zone, but I’m not sure if taking [...]

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I’ve been on the phone with Richard Simmons since Friday, so I’m feeling much better. You know who’s not feeling so well? Brendan Shanahan. It seems all of the teams that might have wanted him are now playing so well, they really don’t need him. The Flyers are [...]